The All-Star Odissey
by Celestial Glowhead
Summary: A long journey is beginning. From the ancient Greece, to the barren and dark streets of Haven city, and the uncharted bits of earth, a number of remarkable people is being gathered, witness their ascension and struggle for survival far away from home.
1. Chapter 1

**First off let me say that my whole body of work has been in Google plus. I'm new to the site and this my first time sharing. That said, please enjoy. Leave your thoughts too.**

Chapter One: The Gathering.

In the middle of a storm, a man apparently spawned out of nowhere. It was a barren place where he found himself. This man was confused, he had been dead but somehow he came back to life and he wanted answers. Last thing he could remember was being struck by a lightning but this instead of hurting him, made him feel better. When he woke up he noticed his surroundings. He stood up and saw someone walking around.

"Who are you and what's going on here?" He asked, raising his hand and charging it with electricity. The man he saw was armed but rather confused. Something about him implied he wasn't really hostile as he didn't try to put a fight.

"Easy there, sparky, I'm just as confused as you are. I woke up around here some seconds ago and it's not everyday that this crap happens to me. Name's Nathan Drake. And yours is...?" He said while throwing his weapons and raising hands in the air.

"Cole. Cole Macgrath. I better get moving. Are you american, or human at least?"

"Yes and yes, happily so. Say, does this place seem familiar to you?" Nate asked while picking up the desert eagle and AK-47 he had thrown away and checking the rounds.

"Not really." Cole then saw a very unearthly view on the sky, multiple moons and constellations unlike any he had witnessed before. "In fact, this doesn't even look like earth to me. What kind of mess did I get into this time?"

"I've had my fair share of bizarre adventures too, nothing like this though. Wait 'til I tell Sully about this one." But as they spoke, a man suddenly appeared behind them, with a pair of blades drawn, looking like he had seen hell. They turned around to see his face, and he wasn't happy at all.

"What world is this?" He asked, very unpleased.

"Middle of damn nowhere, for all we know." Nate replied judging from their situation. He wasn't fond of the idea of making enemies in that situation. The previous day he was on his way to hunt a treasure with Sully and now there he was, seeing people looking straight out of a videogame that Elena would play.

"I just came from the death. I would advise to not waste my time." Said the tall man impatiently. "This is no Hades, so it appears that I still live."

"You died? That makes the two of us, buddy." Replied Macgrath, charging himself with electricity while Nate stepped aside to not get caught in the middle.

"What are you? Another son of Zeus?"

"No but I'm not your enemy, that's what matters." Cole said trying to reason with the man.

"Should I believe that?"

"We wouldn't be having this chat otherwise. I'm Cole, just a conduit with bad luck. How about you?" After some hesitation, the warrior decided to cooperate.

"I am Kratos. Former god of war, Ghost of Sparta." He replied, his blades on his back.

"Well if you two are done with the talk, I'd say we should probably move. I have a compass but it won't do us any good here. I'm all for suggestions." Nate said, searching for a way out of the cold mist.

"We will figure something out. Let's check around, see what we can find." Cole suggested.

"So be it." Kratos said in agreement.

They walked along and remained in silence for a while until they heard someone, prompting them to approach him. Cole motioned them to stay back and not fight yet. When they got close, they saw a furry creature with a tail, some suit of armor and a small robot strapped to his back, wandering around just like them.

"This gets better by the minute." Nate remarked to Cole and Kratos before they proceeded to meet the person.

"Need help, little man? Asked Cole as he approached the yellow skinned creature.

"Well, yeah. Do you know what planet we are in? My name's Ratchet, by the way." He then offered his hand to Cole, who shook it casually.

"Sadly we're just as lost as you are, maybe even worse but I'm willing to bet we all stand a better chance if we stick together."

"We appreciate the help, sir." Said the robot on his behind, to their surprise.

"Oh yeah, he's Clank. He is with me."

"We figured out as much." Nathan said in a joking manner. "Alright, before getting any further we need to think, what's the last thing you remeber before getting magically warped here?"

"Clank and I were travelling through space until we found a wormhole that sucked us into this place."

"So you had a ship?" Cole asked, searching for a possible solution.

"Keyword being "had". It was nowhere to be seen when we woke up here." Clank told them. "Even then, Ratchet, according to my lectures this isn't even our dimension to begin with."

"That's bad, even worse than I thought." Cole added while coming to a conclussion.

"Then we will fight our way out. There has to be someone doing this. I will find him and kill him." Kratos planned precisely.

"I think that's an oversimplification." Ratchet said, not knowing how they would find such person in their current dilema.

"At least it's a plan. Well, part of it." Nate said after patting Kratos in the shoulder. "While we're at it, we are going to be needing a map or something because I doubt they're just going to come at us out loud." But then several footsteps, belonging to a horde, became present.

"Maybe you spoke too soon." Said Kratos, looking at the figures in the mist get closer.

"Get down!" Cole instructed. They rolled over behind a rocky formation in the ruins and looked out to see what was going on. They spotted the stalkers as a squad of purple androids. There were around twenty of them and more on their way as they were being summoned.

"Henchmen of Dr. Nefarious, maybe?" Clank suggested.

"I don't know, Clank, they look like something else entirely." Ratchet guessed while getting his combuster. The robots were all wearing body armor composed of vests and wielded some kind of plasma cannons. They seemed to be searching for something or someone, possibly them.

"So what do we do? Wait 'til they go away or just go out guns blazing and hope for the best?" Nate asked, concerned about their chances.

But before any replies, their train of thought stopped when a blonde man with some kind of weasel on his shoulder came from behind the soldiers and fired at them. If they were to guess they would have said he was some sort of pirate or wastelander. He shot a red grenades that went off splitting the horde and took out some of them. He then rolled for cover and once he had it, he morphed his gun into a yellow rifle. His bullets had a ricochet effect, making them hit his foes multiple times in few shots.

"Who's that?" Ratchet asked seeing the man in action.

"Hopefully a friend. Do what you want but I know what I'll do." Cole said before coming out of hiding to fight too. He rushed at the attackers and brought his lightning down, frying a big lot of them.

Kratos lifted the rock they were using as cover. After stopping most of their shots with it, he delivered a spartan kick, sending the boulder crashing into their foes, sending them back.

Nate pulled an AK-47 and shot those on the higher ground alongside Ratchet but to their surprise, a tank showed up to blast them.

"They've got a tank!" Nate yelled to the others as he and Ratchet jumped behind some ruins and crawled for cover.

"Not a problem!" Kratos screamed as he went for the tank, running with the boots of Hermes. all the shots he took, he absorbed them and shot back with the golden fleece. Once close, he jumped and landed on the top. With a mighty punch, he tore through the cover and removed the driver, snapping his neck while at it and throwing him aside. He alongside the others soon found out that upon destruction, the robots disolved into white sparks that they absorbed into their being, feeling renewed and empowered. He used his strength to lift and toss the tank at the troopers that aimed at him, smashing seven of them handily.

Nate tried to stay out of the fire but two of the gunners found him and shot at him repeatedly. He ran to avoid the shots but the blast still sent him flying a few feet into the air, making him drop his AK-47.

"Shit!" He spat after falling on his chest, right into the dirt and smoke. He was crawling in an attempt to reach the weapon.

The gunners zoomed in to confirm their supposed kill in the middle of the smoke but to their surprise, Nate spun around with a desert eagle in a hand and a magnum in the other and fired away at them, quickly putting slugs between their heads. This only stunned them but it gave Nate the chance to grab his AK-47 and shoot them until they crashed to the ground. They still tried to get up but Nate picked a big rock from the ground and smashed their heads, finishing them off. He then looted what was left of them, taking a blaster and a protection vest into his arsenal as well as absorbing the sparks left behind.

"Now this is an upgrade. It even tingles." He mused before resuming the fight with his new equipment.

Cole exchanged shots with the enemies, zapping them away with an electric pulse. Unlike them, he would be able to heal most of the damage and wounds sustained there but he still dodged their shots in case they could hit him in a vital area. In order to help, Ratchet threw one of his pop-up shields to block the attacks. He then gripped a bomb and threw it over his head while still ducking behind the shield. It landed next to the soldiers, blowing most of them away. The blonde man then walked next to Ratchet and got in position to take a shot at the scattered enemies.

"You should probably get down." He adviced while morphing his gun. Ratchet did as told and dropped behind one of his shields.

"Lock 'n loaded, baby!" Exclaimed the creature on the man's shoulder as they shot a disk at their attackers. It stopped in the air, floating and then quickly spinning around to shoot a lethal barrage of yellow bullets, mowing down the remaining enemies.

"Not bad." Said Ratchet with a smirk looking at what was left of their foes. But the wave didn't stop as a small fleet of assault ships went over to gun them down.

"Guys, watch out!" Nate warned them as the ships aimed for them. They ran behind the ruins of a building to get out of their sight.

"Now how do we blast those suckers?!" Asked the weasel-like creature while covering his ears from the boom of the explosions.

"This way." Said his friend as he morphed his gun yet again, into some kind of electric cannon. After charging it, he stood up and fired at one of the ships, blowing it up.

"Nice but there's still like six of those out there." Nate said as tried to shoot the remaining ones to no avail.

"Leave that to me. Let's finish this." Said Cole as he got up, more charged than before. The ships launched some missiles at them but he just shot them out of the air. Now ready, he launched a ionic storm at the enemy, completely frying them and bringing them down. The rest of the crew just stared as the ships came down in flames, scattered around the wasteland ahead of them.

"That was impressive." Ratchet said, amazed at the display. He had seen that kind of damage before but never without a weapon. Things escalated quickly.

"Yeah, you'll get used it." Cole said while recharging.

"I might be a little late on introductions but I'm Jak. This fella here is Daxter. I'm assuming you are lost too."

"Yes, we are. Nice to meet you, though, we're probably gonna need some help. I have the feeling that was the easy part." Said Ratchet, shaking hands with Jak.

"Don't know about you, guys, but I could use a drink right now." Daxter said, trying to break the ice. "Wish there was a bar somewhere around here."

"We better keep moving then, do you have any idea of where to go now?" Cole asked Ratchet.

"Those things came from over there." He replied, pointing at the direction from where the horde came. "It might be unpleasant but that's where I'm going, I'm guessing the answers await us there. Is any of you coming?"

"I do not back down in times of war and besides, does it look like we have a choice?" Kratos said, agreeing to join.

"I have to agree with him on that. I have nothing better to do so count me in." Said Cole with a smirk.

"Looks like we got ourselves into a real adventure. That's fine, this is definitely going in my diary." Nate pointed out while getting his diary to write down the events of the day.

"Jak and I are going too. You're going to be needing our skills, street smarts and extra muscle for this quest, business, venture, or whatever." Daxter said, earning a smirk from Jak.

"What the heck, I guess it's worth the shot." Jak thought out loud.

"Alright, fellas, if it's settled, let's go." Said Ratchet as he stood with his new partners, staring into the vast horizon of adventures that awaited them while walking down the path with their respective weapons at hand. They would soon meet new allies as well as foes on the way. But unbeknownst to them, the mind behind these events already had them on sight.

 **'It has begun.'**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Raid**

As the sun set, our heroes kept walking, heading towards a fortress that Clank managed to locate with his radar. They wandered for a while, thinking of their following actions. Almost an hour passed from their previous fight, but now they were bent on taking the fight to the fortress of whoever sent the exterminators. They shared some stuff about each other on the way to distract their minds.

"So what you mean to tell us is that you are basically a modern day Indiana Jones." Said Cole from what he had heard of Nate's story. The others didn't know who Indiana Jones was as Cole and Nate were the only ones to come from modern day earth, but they did know he was talking about treasure hunting.

"That's a fun way of putting it but yeah, it's a lot like that." Nathan assured him.

"And these treasures you gather, what use do you have for them?" Kratos inquired.

"I just set them up in museums, exhibitions, sometimes I use them to pay the bills."

"Really? I woukd re-sell them for a profit. Imagine all the business possibilities if we did that, Jak." Said Daxter.

"What can I say? I'm a simple man, most of the time I just do it for the adventure itself more than anything."

"Ah yes, the sport. Nothing like a good hunt. " Kratos added.

"Yeah, sort of. To be fair, I had my share of crazy experiences but nothing of this size. This is just nuts."

"Story of my life, buddy. But you'll get used to it." Said Jak, reassuring Nathan. After walking for a while, they soon came across a small river. The water was only at the level of their ankles so they just went through it, except for Cole due to personal reasons.

"What? You don't like water?" Asked Ratchet, turning to see Cole staying behind.

"We don't get along too well. Have you ever dropped a toaster on a bath tub? Not a chance." Cole said in a very serious manner, which the others understood. He then noticed a few rocks coming from the water, not fully covered. Using his parkour skills, he jumped from one to other until he made it to the grass with the others.

"You better hope it doesn't rain around here these days." Nate remarked as they kept walking.

Eventually, they made it to a quiet field where the breeze was stronger. Then they reached a high hill. From there, they actually managed to see it, the place they looked for. It was similar to a military base, weapons and soldiers moving all over the place, some small buildings every here and there, full of unknown material. They eyed the same enemies they fought earlier being assembled for some kind of meeting.

"Ok, here we are, what now?" Asked Cole as he eyed the fortress. A large wall surrounded it, no visible gaps on it, except for the front gate. They obviously wouldn't just knock on it expecting things to not go badly.

"We have to figure out a way to enter." Answered Jak.

"And also a way out, you know, just in case you don't want to get toasted." Added Daxter.

"If we just charge in, we will lose the surprise factor. We don't know how many of those things there are, if we get trapped they could overwhelm us." Clank deduced.

"So in short, we can all agree that we have close to no idea of what awaits us there or what will happen next, as usual." Nate stated, shaking his head at the thought.

"We can climb in, but we need someone to get rid of any watchers or sentries." Kratos strategized, like in his old days as a spartan general. "A fortress of that size will not be unprotected."

"Looks like you could use some help." Said a certain somebody as he approached the team, out of the bushes where he hid. They turned around to meet him, it was a humanoid raccoon who just so happened to be dressed like a thief.

"And just like who would you be?" Asked Nate, more confused than alarmed.

"Sly Cooper. Master thief, bon vivant, gentleman and constant pain in the butt for crooks and other criminals, at your service." He said bowing down a bit, with a golden cane on his hand.

"You wouldn't so happen to have wound up here as if by magic too, would you?" Ratchet inquired, trying to see if this guy was stuck too.

"Oh, you got me there. Woke up in the middle of nowhere, on top of a giant statue and then got dragged all the way here."

"So what can you do to help us?" Jak asked, sizing up the newcomer.

"If the word "thief" doesn't ring a bell yet, I'm good at infiltrating places. Sure, I don't have my team here but I can improvise something. I want answers too."

"And how do we know if you are good at it and not just a two bit crook?" Daxter questioned.

"I followed you all the way here without you noticing, didn't I?"

"The kid has a point, he's got light feet." Said Nate in reaction to his display. "But we still haven't cooked up a plan for the raid."

"Clank, do you still have the hologuise?" Ratchet asked Clank, to which he replied.

"Yes."

"Good. If we recalibrate it enough then maybe I can use it to infiltrate the place."

"What do you mean?" Asked Sly.

"Just watch." Ratchet said with a smirk. The guys watched as he reconfigurated the device's settings until it was ready, wondering if he was doing something useful. By the time he finished, it took him just a click to completely morph his look into that of the sentries, leaving the crew with their eyes wide open in surprise and shock in different but similar reactions.

"This is just like a Las Vegas show." Said Nate with a blissful smile.

"What on earth? Ratchet, is it still you?" Asked Jak, legitimately amazed.

"Yeah but hush, don't tell the bad guys that." He said jokingly, to which Jak actually smirked.

"What kind of sorcery is that?" Kratos wondered.

"Just a little technology I brought from home."

"Impressive."

"You gotta get me one of those, man!" Daxter exclaimed in excitement.

"I'll see about that but first thing's first. I will try to fool them and if they do open the gate, that's our chance to tag along. You guys better hide here and watch me go or else they will spot us."

"I'm going in too. You're going to need extra hands in there." Sly said putting his cane behind his head.

"Listen, pal, you might be a good sneaker but you'd have to be damn invisible to get in there." Said Cole, wondering what Sly was up to.

"Funny that you said that." In the blink an eye Sly became completely invisible. "The moment they open the door for him, I will sneak in and find you a way in. Or else you can smash your way in and take them out."

This settled, the rest of the team stayed back and watched Ratchet's impersonation attempt. He walked into the main gate and waved his arms in signal of distress. The lead sentry noticed and looked at him before interrogating.

"Where are the others like you?"

"Out of order. The biological organisms took us by surprise. Only I made it." Said Ratchet in pretense. The team would have been impressed by his performance as he pulled a deep and metallic voice. "Requesting permission to enter and report everything."

"Granted. The leader is expecting a report in the next minutes. Hurry up." Then the gates parted, leaving it to Ratchet to enter as well as Sly who was still invisible.

"And our trojan horse is in." Said Nate as he stood watching things unfold from the cliff with his binoculars.

"So what's the next step of our master plan?" Asked Daxter out of excitement.

"We wait a little longer, see how they play. If there's a sign of trouble, we bomb the whole thing to ashes." Cole told them.

"Works for me." Kratos said.

Once inside, Sly walked through the campsite, careful to not bump into any sentries. Most of them seemed inactive, just standing in formation in rows. Only the ones on top of the wall remained alert. Since he couldn't run while invisible, he just walked slowly at the elevator that led to the top and pushed the button hoping others would think it was a malfunction.

Ratchet, still under disguise, was led to the core of the camp where other sentries stood. Once in there, their eyes lit up to watch a message projected through a speaker. There he catched the first glimpse of who would be behind the operation.

" **Can you hear me out? Nefarious, Specter, is this thing running? Good. Listen up closely, all of you. I know how the search for the targets went. I'm not one to put with failure or nonsense, but truth be said, I'm not upset nor do I consider this a failure. You were all supposed to be mere cattle for your targets. Just some dumb fun to start the games. The whole place should get raided in the following minutes. Hell, I think one of the targets, already dressed up as one of you and infiltrated the base,and you just bought the lone survivor act from the last fool who entered, meaning you are compromised.** **Basically, it means you are going to have a bad time since the walls will be breached, any moment now. You will test the new specimens though. Don't just stay there, move it!"**

Ratchet got a little alarmed when he heard this. His cover was almost as good as blown. But he did hear the ominous voice guy mention Nefarious at the beginning, that was something as he now knew that his old nemesis was involved. Maybe he wasn't as in dark as he thought but now there were issues, the sentries were looking for him. Luckily they all looked alike and he got mixed with the others in line but there he was hoping that Sly would warn the others and they would attack since the surprise was almost lost.

Having heard the message, Sly went for the top sentries on the border walls. He saw the one next to the control panel, standing on the edge. With a well placed swing from his cane, Sly sent him falling several feet to his destruction and then pressed the button on the panel to open the forcefield and gate. The other sentries turned and shot repeatedly, believing they had hit him, but actually that was one of his decoys. The real Sly then jumped away as far as he could, off the wall and into the lower grounds, breaking the fall with his chute. He was shot at, but he ran fast enough to avoid the blasts, heading to meet with the team.

"Okay, that's or cue in. You know what to do." Said Cole to the group as he charged himself and fired a shockwave at the entrance, breaching it. His allies soon followed and drew their weapons, Nate took his new blaster, Jak drew his red launcher and Kratos pulled Apollo's bow. Their combined rounds laid waste to the front sentries.

"Locked and loaded, baby!" Daxter yelled as Jak reloaded. They came across Sly as they charged in.

"Not bad, ringtail." Said Nate as he quickly marched with the others, congratulating Sly.

"I aim to fulfill."

Seeing his allies raid the place and most enemies distracted, Ratchet took off his disguise and tossed a groovatron at the sentries, keeping them in place, dancing. He could have just stared at that hilarious sight with a grin but he was in a rush so he pulled his combuster and ran through the horde, blasting whoever stood on his way to regroup with the guys behind their cover.

"So much for the cautious approach." Said Jak as he took cover with the others behind the back end of a tank, peeking out occasionally to fire his blue mod machine gun to fire at the nearby enemies and duck when they fired back.

"Yeah but at least this is more fun than I expected." Ratchet said as he threw his zooming blades at the sentries, letting them fly and rip through them. But the sentries started throwing grenades, and they were getting awfully close to them with each throw. Their arsenal had been improved from their last encounter.

"We need to push this thing through, can you guys give it some muscle?" Said Nate, trying to get the others to push the tank through the line. Kratos just buried his hands on the tank and started pushing and running while Cole blasted the grenades from the air and shielded himself from the shockwaves. Once in position, Kratos grunted and delivered a spartan kick, sending the tank crashing into the sentries, causing them to explode.

"Score!" Exclaimed Nate before rolling for cover from a high turret's shots.

"Nice one, Jak. Sparky, watch your back!" Daxter told Jak and Cole respectively as they kept shooting their way through the zone.

Cole used his shockwaves to throw around the tanks that were aiming for him. Many shells soared through the air close to him but he repelled most of them with his reflexes and pulses. But during the battle, Cole spotted a man, resembling some sort of cyborg, slicing up the tanks into pieces with extreme accuracy. His blade seemed to be high tech like nothing Cole had seen before as it sliced straight and clean through all the enemies it faced.

"Who the hell is that?" Wondered Nate out loud as he watched him sweep through the enemy reinforcements without much struggle.

"Don't know but i'm glad he's in our side." Said Cole, watching and thinking the same. This man could have been a conduit but his cyber implants suggested he was an enhanced human, maybe part of a super soldier project or something. The cyborg turned to see them but quickly identified them as allies.

"You can just call me Raiden." He said before resuming the battle. The remaining sentries went down after being slashed apart by him. They thought the battle to be done afterwards.

"Another pile of scrap metal." Raiden mused to himself.

"Were those all of them, Clank?" Ratchet asked his pal.

"It seems so. Though I'm getting a strange signal right now." Then the team started hearing an ominous voice taunting them.

 **"Oh boy, that was fun. Here I was thinking you guys wouldn't get along so well but you are a dream team. Hope you had your fuln. Don't mind me bringing more people into the games.**

"Show yourself and fight, cowardly bastard!" Kratos demanded.

 **"You are in no position to make demands from me, Ghost of Sparta. Watch your tone. None of you is running things here, boys. That's why you're stuck here, far away from your precious homes. But everywhere is my home."**

"Then why do you have us here, playing into your stupid game like pawns?" Jak asked out loud.

" **Questions at the end of the ride, sorry. I expected you to be more grateful considering I pulled some of you from the dead. Isn't that so, Cole? Kratos? Come on, guys, I even brought you a new friend."**

"So that's why I'm here, huh?" Raiden said, with venom in his mouth. "I'll make sure you regret that choice."

 **"Sure you will. But I think you will feel like in home here. And that's enough chit chat from me, how about I give you what you crave for? A bloody good fight. I want you to be entertained!"**

Then a squad of 7 large robot spawned in front of the team. They were covered in a pale silver shade, stood taller than even Kratos and lacked any features that could pass as human except for a pair of red flaming eyes. They were of humanoid shape but their metal shells were shaped to be more physically imposing than any human. They just stared at the team for a moment in an unsettling manner.

"So, what the heck are those?" Asked Sly, slightly alarmed.

"I think we are about to find out." Asked Kratos, putting the nemean cestus on to protect his fists for the incoming throwdown.

Then the middle bot stomped the ground once and so did the others in unison, before lighting up their heads in a flashing blue light and extending their arms forward, rushing at the team. With no other choice the fighters did the same, each one running at one of the bots. Kratos jumped into the air, clashing fists with his match, before delivering a two leg kick that sent him flying away, quickly following with a tackle that shoved him through several walls.

As Cole tried to weigh his foe down with his powers, he realized his attempts were futile as the bot tanked most of it with minimal damage, jumped at him and punched him hard, sending him several feet away. Cole landed on his knees and then saw the thing quickly running at him. He reacted by creating a shockwave that sent it flying into a tank. Not willing to let it get up, he picked all the crates and vehicles that looked flamable with his powers and let them all down on the bot, then sending a surge of napalm that lit it all up, unleashing a wide explosion.

Sly slid under the legs of the bot attacking him, taking advantage of their size difference and swung his cane down on it's back. That managed to stagger it but not enough, as it just spun around backhanding Sly. Luckily he drew his guard shield out just in time to block the blow but it still sent him crashing into a wall, cracking it. The thing tried to tackle him further but Sly flipped in the air and hopped on it's back in order to avoid the hit, letting it crash into a small facility. Following it inside there, Sly broke all the lights with his cane to hide out better and keep the bot in darkness. Not knowing where to search, the bot's head lit up and started shooting lasers all around at the shape of Sly, trying to terminate him. What it didn't know was that Sly was leaving his decoys all over the place to get it to blast the pillars and bury itself in rubble. When there only remained one left, Sly smashed it with his cane and jumped through a window, leaving the small building to fall down on his attacker. It's head rose from the debris and was about to shoot it's laser when Sly pulled his shield again and deflected the blast back, cracking the bot's head. He jumped on top of it and slammed his cane down repeatedly, but it responded by grabbing his cane and then knocked him away with a headbutt. In response, Sly just smiled, looking at the explosives he picked and surrounded the bot with while he was distracted alongside one of his mine caps. The bot tried to get out but Sly pressed the detonator right away now that he was at a safe distance, blowing up the bot's upper half.

"Oh, what a day." Sly remarked with a sigh before rolling away.

Jak and Daxter were having their own battle as the bot fighting them morphed it's arms into a pair of shooters, prompting them to dodge and jump behind a tank to recover and recharge.

"This is like the metal heads, just ten times worse." Said Daxter while Jak drew the peace maker but to their surprise, the bot lifted the tank over it's head, ready to bring it down on them. Before it had the chance though, Jak fired the peace maker at it, blasting it away. Desperate, the bot got up and launched itself at Jak with it's propulsors, grabbing him by the neck, which lead to a physical struggle between both.

Back at Kratos, his foe received many hits after being pinned to the ground and pummeled but it then proceeded to grab the Ghost of Sparta by his throat, lift him off the ground and give him a punch in the stomach that sent him flying towards Cole. It then shot beams from it's eyes but both men reacted quickly and jumped out of the way. Surprisingly, the bot that Cole tried to fry came out of the wreckage, damaged but still operational. After standing back to back, Cole and Kratos tagged and switched foes.

In a huge leap boosted by his lightning, Cole brought his amp down on the mechanic beast, which stopped it with a hand but to it's surprise Cole expected it and spun himself around it's head, then grabbing it from behind. Now the bot tried to shake him off by ramming itseld into structures. Cole could hear the walls crack and some of his ribs as well. But now bringing his trump card, Cole began bio leeching the bot.

"That's right, asshole." Cole said between hits and injuries. He really was glad that he had a healing factor like he did, because that crap hurt like hell. He didn't give up his attack though. Despite not being a biological being, the bot operated with electrical energy, allowing Cole to take big chunks of energy from it until it staggered. With his replenished energy, Cole began freezing it's hard shell until it was brittle. This led the bot to fall on one knee as the joint of it's neck deteriorated. After a bit more it couldn't even move so Cole hopped off it's back. Now looking at it's stretching arm, Cole gathered his energy and with his focus on point, he sent a massive surge of lightning to it's head, finishing it off and looking at the frozen bits on the ground that were splattered.

Kratos was dodging and parrying a volley of punches from the other bot, slashing it with his blades. Once close enough, he pierced both of it's arms to stop any further strikes before delivering a spartan kick to it's chest and snapping it's neck with his titanic strength. He raised the beast over his head and then shoved it hard down on his knee with a war yell, snapping it's spine joint. But when he catched a glimpse of Jak wrestling with a bot, he decided to help him. He threw the shattered body he held at the bot Jak was fighting. Jak dodged aside as the brute was sent crashing and seeing his opportunity, pulled a second round of the peace maker and fired at his opponent, blowing it's head off for good. He turned and gave Kratos a thumb up.

"Thanks." Kratos just nodded at this and watched the others still fighting.

Nate was being chased around by one of the beasts, dashing and avoiding blasts as he ran. After gaining enough distance, he ducked and aimed his newly acquired plasma rifle at the bot, shooting it repeatedly. Unluckily for him, it didn't do much damage and after closing the gap with a jump, it punched Nate right through a wall. It was a good thing he had the vest on, he thought. When the smoke from the hole cleared and the bot zoomed in to see where Nate ended up, it was greeted by him with a rocket launcher he found on the floor.

"Say hello to ny little friend." He said. He fired a first shot, sending the bot flying into an armored truck, a second one to keep it pinned and the third one got buried in it's chest and blew up. When the bot got up, wrecked for the most part, it spotted Nate mounting a tank's turret. Without any hesitations, he unloaded a barrage of shells on his target until it went down in flames.

Raiden had drawn out his HF blade and slashed the beast in front of him as fast as he could but he was having issues cutting through it's shell. After a brief exchange, he sent a devastating thrust to it's mid section but the bot catched it with his hands. That was until Raiden saw Cole soaring through the air behind the bot, smacking the back of it's head, which allowed Raiden's blade to penetrate and then go higher, splitting the beast in half from the waist up. Both him and Cole watched as it crashed into the ground.

"Quite a display." Cole pointed out in respect.

"You'll get used to it." Raiden replied in a calm manner. They turned to regroup with the others as they saw the last enemy left behind, slowly walking at them. Too slowly actually. But after a couple of steps, it fell down broken and they noticed it was missing the back half of it's body. Courtesy of Ratchet's R.Y.N.O. There they saw Ratchet and Clank looking victoriously.

"Well, that takes care of it." Clank said, looking at all the waste they laid to the place.

"Victory is ours!" Kratos exclaimed.

"For now." Raiden said, with his arms crossed and wondering what was next.

"I guess so. But we are further away from home now than we thought. Alright, so what's our next step?" Jak asked.

"We keep moving, for our own sake. An old enemy of mine is in league with the puppeteer we just met. This wasn't by chance, he picked us for some reason and we will find out. But first thing's first, we might need some rest." Ratchet told the others, who agreed on that.

"This is going to take a while. But it's worth it. We are all in this together, never forget that, people." Said Cole, reminding the crew what they were doing and why. "If there was a way into this mess, there's a way out, back to our homes."

There was some silence between the group for a while.

"Are you guys like a squad or something?" Raiden finally inquired.

"Sort of." Nate said before looking at Cole.

"Of the biggest suckers, suicidals and unfortunate bastards in all cosmos." Cole continued.

"And we pity the fool who is messing with us. For he does not know what he brought upon himself." Kratos stated.

"Then you can count me in." Raiden said, agreeing with them. "You people have my sword." He would then tell them his story and they would sit around to hear, for the lack of a better thing to do. It would be a long trip afterwards but at least they found some calm. They just hoped it would last.

 **And cut. This was kinda hard to write but totally worth it. If you were to review, Pm, follow or give an input in any way, that would just make me very happy, but I already am happy though. Thanks for your time. Sending good vibes on your way, lovely people. Stay tuned for the next chapter which is likely to take less since my original pitch for it was pretty complete. Feel free to suggest too.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Tagging along.**

After their last battle in the enemy fortress, the crew searched all over the place they stood in, looking for things they could use to their advantage. They decided to just settle for a while since they didn't know their location precisely and had nowhere to go. They sat around a small campfire, hearing Raiden's introduction story and issues. He shook hands with everyone and learned their names, thinking of them as his new squad. He had been a soldier and while he was almost out of his depth, his new team would have to suffice. He had once heard Snake and Otacon talk about an army of apes wearing mind control helmets trying to take over earth, so maybe this wasn't so weird in contrast.

"So, any idea of where we are, Clank?" Ratchet asked with his hands close to the fire to warm himself up.

"None, Ratchet. I don't think we are even in our known universe. From what I've gathered we all come from different dimensions and we are now in a different one."

"Well that's discouraging." Added Sly, realizing how far he was from reuniting with his friends. At least he had people he could trust at the moment.

"If I may add, the one who brought us here seems to have access to dimensional portals and technology so perhaps we could use that to our advantage." Clank suggested. This kind of ordeal just reminded him of what could have been if he and Ratchet had used the dimentionator he picked years ago.

"We'll see about that later but right now we must focus on surviving." Said Cole, reminding the team of their situation. "If they want us to play this game, we'll sure as hell win it. It's better if you keep your guard up."

"I agree with sparky here, we don't know what's coming for us next. And the idea of leaving this hole might be distant." Said Nate in agreement. "But don't be sad, we might be far from home, but we do have each other."

"With everything that implies." Jak added.

"And I have the feeling we'll be getting more company." Raiden said, reflecting on the words of their forced host.

As they spoke, their attention was caught when what looked like a ship had a crash landing, not too far from them. They ran and looked over to see where it fell.

"Looks to me like your prayers have been answered." Kratos said, staring at the trace in the sky and hearing the ruckus. The others got up, ready for what that meant.

"I think that deserves a look." Cole said, analyzing the situation.

"How do we know it's not a trap?" Asked Raiden, to which Ratchet pulled out his wrench.

"Let's go ask them. Better if we go hunt them than waiting until they find us. Right, Clank?"

"Well, if you insist."

"Just watch your fire, we don't know if that means enemies and we don't want to give a wrong impression either." Cole warned them, to which they nodded.

"It's ok, we know the sitch, coach." Daxter said before they made their way to the crash site.

When they got there, they saw the ship. Considerably trashed but not blown up yet. It had been forced open but to their surprise they didn't see anyone coming out from it or near it.

"Kratos, what do you think is the meaning of this?" Asked Ratchet.

"A distraction." Kratos deduced, right in time.

"A distraction for what?" Just as Ratchet questioned this, an invisible foe moved around them with a knife, in a stealthy approach but he was stopped cold when he felt a sword and a gun being pressed against his head.

"Freeze." Said Raiden and Jak simultaneously after stopping the supposed attacker on his tracks.

"Your knife and pistol, if you'd be so kind." Raiden demanded. The man dropped his combat knife and pistol and kicked them away before putting his hands behind his head as the others turned to see his shape.

"Come forth and remove the cloak." Kratos demanded. The man said nothing but complied and turned off his cloaking device, revealing himself as a man in black armor with bright red eyes and a military look.

"Well this is inconvenient." He mused to himself given his predicament.

"Who are you?" Raiden questioned, still holding his blade to the man's neck.

"Colonel Radec from Helghast. That's about all you are getting from me. This doesn't seem to be neither earth or Helghast. Where are we and why have you brought me here?"

"We're the ones asking. We are stuck here too, you are fighting the wrong guys." Ratchet told him.

"Now why should I believe that?"

"Because otherwise we wouldn't be having this talk." Ratchet then heard the sound of a confrontation and some voices very close, leading him to believe they weren't alone.

"Keep an eye on him, Ratchet. I'm going to check what's going on there." Cole commanded, to which Ratchet nodded.

"You are not going alone." Said Kratos as he tagged along.

"Fine then, big guy." This said, both men began sprinting to the second location using their superhuman stats to cover the distance in a short time, leaving the rest of the team to watch the colonel.

After a short run, Cole and Kratos reached the source of the noise. There they catched a glimpse of a young man in a black coat having a sword fight against a red haired asian girl.

"They seem to be distracted for now." Said Kratos, ready to fight but he was stopped by Cole.

"We don't know if they're against us. Let's try to break the fight and if things go wrong you can do it your way."

"Bold planning." Kratos agreed. Cole then ran at the two intending to end their quarrel.

"I'll give you credit, girl, you're persistent. Maybe we can go out after this." Said the young man as he shot at the girl repeatedly only for her to block his bullets with her sword.

"You disgust me, demon." She replied as she got close to him and clashed blades with him, neither side giving up their push.

"Have it your way, princess, one way or another, I'm taking you out." They backed away again but before they could go any further, both warriors were stopped once they heard a lightning strike next to them. They were surprised to see two men standing between them before they could clash.

"Out of my way." The woman demanded from Cole aiming her sword at him. He remained in place, not too concerned about it.

Kratos on the other hand, stood stoic in front of the younger man. He could see the fighting will and deadly intent in his eyes, as well as a warrior's spirit. Admirable but misplaced.

"Nice blades." Said the young man as a compliment after taking notice of Kratos' blades. "Must have been hard for you to get."

"You have no idea." Kratos replied, cold but honestly. The young man just smirked.

"Listen up, you two, whatever bad blood you may have right now, it's unnecessary and misplaced. What's going on is way bigger than that. I'm Cole, he's Kratos, we came to help." Said Cole with his hands up, trying to avoid any conflict.

"What are you fighting for?" Kratos questioned.

"This demon stood in my way and didn't answer my questions. I thought him to be the one behind this ordeal." Replied the girl.

"And this witch really can't take a hint, nor dows she know to give directions." Said the young man, pointing at her.

"Foolish." Kratos commented on their quarrel.

"Listen you two, somebody is messing with you and dragged us all here. This isn't earth or whatever place you call home and right now our best chance is sticking together. Tell me your names." The girl and the man stared at Cole for a moment before lowering their weapons.

"I am Nariko." She said quietly.

"The name's Dante. Don't forget it." He answered, casually.

"Do you remember how you got here?"

"I thought this to be the afterlife. I remember dying before getting here." Nariko replied. Both Kratos and Cole were reminded of their respective situations that led them to arrive in there as they thought they had died. Dante then spoke up.

"Was pulled through a portal in an average day after killing some demons. I soon found myself stranded here. You got a clue of what's going on, I suppose."

"Not now but if you want to live, you should follow us." Kratos told them.

"Not like we have a choice on that regard." Nariko said as she and Dante went walking with Kratos and Cole.

"You are right about that." Kratos said to her.

Back with the others, Ratchet did as told and watched over Radec, who was still on his knees and with his hands on the back of his head. Time passed and he decided to voice his thoughts.

"So who captured us? Any intel on that, was it humans?" The colonel asked, intending to learn more about his situation.

"Something is watching us over as we talk. And it ain't human." Raiden replied, thinking of the entity keeping them there. "What war do you have against earth anyway?"

"A large one. Helghast started as a planet discovered and developed by former humans who became dependant on it's components, turning into something better, more evolved, complete. We had an eden in our hands but most importantly, power. My people and the earthlings have waged war against each other for a long time now. I served as a high ranking colonel under the lead of Scolar Visari. I did well for a long time. But then the tides turned, they went from facing us in earth to battling us in our homeworld. Even I failed and as I faced defeat, death was certain, or worse, the risk of being interrogated. I couldn't let them have that, I wouldn't allow it. So I grabbed my gun and you can imagine what ensued. I don't know how the hell that brought me here. But let's not stick to the past, let's think of the present threat, shall we?" This caught Nate's attention as he heard Kratos and Cole talk about their deaths before arrival.

"What a story. I'm starting to think this is the limbo or some crap."

"Dunno about you but I'm feeling alive and kickin' right now." Daxter said.

"After waking up I explored the area until I found a ship and fixed it to take off before the creatures could catch me." Radec said, continuing his story.

"What creatures?" Nate asked.

"You will see. It took most of my equipment to slow them down. Pray that they didn't follow me. It's almost as if they set the ship to malfunction and leave me here with you."

Thinking strategically, Raiden figured out Radec was used as some sort of bait for them. That couldn't turn out well. Clever move though.

"Cole and Kratos better hurry up. I don't think we have much time." He hoped, predicting what could be an attack. "We are like sitting ducks here. The creatures Radec mentioned must be on the move."

"So we are expecting company. That's not good." Sly stated.

It didn't take too long for them to see Kratos and Cole heading back to them with Dante and Nariko between them now.

"About time you swung by. Turns out the colonel here is space Hitler. Or works for space Hitler at least. Oh, and you got to bring friends, I see." Nate said, welcoming the four.

"Not exactly friends." Said Nariko as she walked closer.

"But we'll do just fine." Dante added.

"Now that that's out of the window, we better move it up. I think Radec was tracked down, which means they'll come for us." Raiden's words really catched Cole's attention.

Just as they thought they could settle and get ready for the attack, some sort of meteor fell down and exploded near the team, blowing most of them away.

"Everyone alright?" Sly asked as they slowly got up and moved out of the smoke and dirt. Ratchet raised his hand.

"Yeah, we're fine." However, the meteor combusted, releasing a swarm of purple creatures made out of purple polygons. They had an imposing shape, not as big as the bots but still remarkable. Their eyes were of yellow light. They slowly morphed their hands into swords and mallets, ready to attack. Then they went running at the team.

"Well, on second thought." Ratchet then pulled a bomb and threw it against the creatures, the explosion throwing them all back. Raiden ran at the few remaining with his sword drawn. Before they reacted, he sliced them apart. But that wasn't all of it.

"I think we've got more company." Sly warned them, seeing more meteors crashing down. The team braced themselves for the incoming forces, all getting their weapons.

"My weapons, now." Radec demanded. Ratchet turned to Cole, who nodded at him. He pulled the knife and pistol they took from him and tossed them into the dirt ahead of him for Radec to pick them up.

"Better point them the right way." Ratchet warned him.

"Believe me that we'll be watching you." Daxter told him too, glaring at him from Jak's shoulder.

"We will discuss this later, right now let's focus on our survival." Said Radec, focusing on the fight. He then activated his cloak and ran forwards to begin the fight.

Kratos pushed through the incoming foes that stood in his way, shoving them aside. He impaled one's body with his blades and lifted it up, tackling it and using it as a battering ram against the horde to make way for himself and his allies. The fallen polygons left some orbs of energy that made Kratos feel stronger upon contact like before.

Cole fired a barrage of lightning at the polygons, overwhelming them. He then caught sight of a series of purple orbs aimed at him and rolled out of the way. With his criokinesis he froze his attackers into solid ice and shattered them with his amp. He then stood back to back with Dante.

"Not bad, man. My turn." With both guns at hand, Dante fired eight consecutive headshots at the beings. As they staggered, he charged head on with his sword to finish them, only to see Nariko ahead first, slicing them apart and jumping at the others.

"Damn, she's good." Dante mused to himself before resuming the fight and tearing through his foes.

Nate took cover behind a rock while Ratchet used his updated R.Y.N.O to blast some of the meteors before they could land. The other polygons stood in formation and shot beams from their eyes, attempting to hit them but Nate threw a plasma grenade at the rocky formations above, letting an avalanche down on the polygons while he and Ratchet jumped out of the way. The polygons got out of the rubble, only to be shot down by Jak with his red mod shotgun. The crew watched as Cole used his criokinesis and touched the ground, making gigantic ice spikes burst out of the ground to impale another group of polygons.

"Always full of surprises, aren't you?" Ratchet asked as he stood side by side with Cole, blasting more of the enemies to pieces.

"Have you noticed how the enemies you take out leave these white sparking orbs upon destruction?" Clank asked the two of them.

"Yeah. Feels good when you absorb them too." Cole replied while sending more shockwaves at his foes.

"Perhaps you can also use it to amplify your weapons and reload them."

"I'm on it." Ratchet then began channeling the energy to reload his weapons that ran out of ammo. His R.Y.N.O then got it's ammunition replenished.

"I live again." He mused before resuming his strike with Cole.

Radec, still under his stealth cloak to stay undetected, moved past the charging polygons. In a quick motion, he buried his knife in one's head. Before the rest got a chance to react and strike back, he drew his gun and shot six of them, before running out of ammo. Then another barrage of bullets hit them, effectively bringing them down. Radec turned to see Nathan and Jak with their guns drawn.

"Told you I'd be watching you." Said Daxter, still glaring before he and Jak went back to the fight. Radec just shrugged, activating his cloak again.

Raiden hacked and slashed through the last polygons in the area, decimating them quickly. He felt a lot of power flowing through him after touching the orbs they left. The other ones left were destroyed by Kratos, using his bare hands for it.

The group gathered after the fight ended. They looked at each other before Cole broke the silence.

"Guess it's time for some introductions. Guys, these are Dante and Nariko." Cole said, introducing the pair to the team. Nariko bowed a little as a salute while Dante just waved at them. "Okay, that takes care of it."

"Cole, if you don't mind, my readings began detecting a weak dimensional barrier. Something like a rift or tear, if you'd call it that." Clank said.

"It's weird but I can feel it too. Like millions of volts flowing through space, calling us." Cole tried to explain.

Then a portal opened right in front of the team, leading to an unknown destination.

"If I'm correct, this kind of tear must have been what brought us here in the first place, guys." Clank stated.

"Then it could be an exit." Ratchet said.

"Don't expect me to cross that thing." Daxter said, reminding Jak of when a similar situation happened to them in the past.

"Anybody know what we're going to do with it?" Sly asked, making the others think about it.

"It could be a way out of this wasteland. But I wouldn't be so sure." Kratos said.

"Let's find out." Raiden then suddenly pushed Radec through the portal. After a brief silence, Radec spoke up on the other side while coming back.

"I still live, if it concerns you."

"Works for me. Clank, think you and Ratchet can go and see if you can use Radec's ship or at least fix it." Cole said.

"We're on it. Give us some time and it should operational again." Clank answered, making Ratchet smile in agreement.

"That's the spirit, guys." Cole said with a smirk.

"So, are we like going to cross it now, all of us?" Nate asked.

"We may have to split. Some of us should clear the way before we all go in." Kratos suggested.

"If so, count me the hell in." Raiden said, volunteering for any possible quest, ready for another battle.

"Guys, guys, remember that I'm the explorer here. I'm going in too." Nate reaffirmed. Cole then spoke up.

"The enthusiasm is always appreciated, boys. But I think it's better if we all take a breather first."

Now listening, Radec joined the talk too.

"I don't know any of you, nor do I trust you yet. But any distrust I may have right now is overwhelmed by my despise for whoever brought me from the dead for this stupid little game. I will join your cause as long as it suits me, I have nowhere to run, do I?"

"Good, get comfortable, because I think you'll be stuck with us for a while." Jak told him.

"Hell of a team you've got, mate." Dante said to Cole with a smirk. "Hope you know what you are doing."

"I'm learning slowly." He replied with a smirk.

Meanwhile, in another location, the head of the polygons and the whole event watched over as the group survived.

 **"Remarkable, you won another stand, but you better enjoy the quiet before the storm, because the trials are just starting. Maybe I'll have to shake up things a little to keep you entertained. It will be glorious."**

He then turned to see a small group of people under his command.

 **"Are you all ready?"**


	4. Chapter 4

**Little something I had to do, Chapter 4 of my PS All-Stars Battle Royale fanfic series (I take a long ass time doing this, you people have to wait a lot, I know, I'll tell you about my thought process later).**

After reaching some good terms with their new companions, the group had agreed to let a part of the team venture to the other side of the portal to make sure it wasn't a trap. So, Nathan, Cole, Kratos and Raiden went head first into the potential dangers while the others stayed behind.

"Don't mind me asking but how were your lives before all of this started?" Nate asked while exploring the land they discovered through the portal. "Not just before they snatched us but I mean before you got doing what you do now?"

"Why do you care?" Raiden questioned.

"I like to know the people I work with to a certain extent. Besides, I just feel like talking. You told us what you do for a living, just not how it began."

"I have been a soldier since I was a kid, after losing my parents. Served in Africa, other than my brothers in arms I had no family back then. Now I have a wife and a child but I don't see them often lately. They're still waiting for me to go home when I finish my job. Seems like that will take even longer than I thought."

"I can relate. Have a wife and daughter waiting for me too." Nate said, thinking of the loved ones he had waiting for him.

"What about your powers?" Cole asked Raiden, joining the conversation.

"Enhancements, a little gift from my superiors. What about yours?"

"I'm what we call a conduit. Just didn't know it until that damn day came. I was working as a bike courier, I was a college drop out so I had to do something for a living. One day I get a special package. I was offered a lot of money. Didn't think there would be any problem. How wrong was I. I get a call after reaching the spot, telling me to open the package. That was all it took for it to blow up. The explosion killed thousands but it activated the special gene in me. Next thing I knew, I had powers and was deemed a terrorist. I fought others like me who were tearing the city apart and abusing their powers. It was bad but it got worse. Then I lost the woman I loved. All the powers I had yet I couldn't save her." Cole then let out a deep sigh, before continuing. "Turns out the man behind all that was myself from the future, preparing me for a beast and a plague that would destroy mankind. In the end all conduits like me had to die in order for humans to be saved, so I took a choice and died with them. Or so I thought. Now here I am, fighting to survive with you." When he cocluded, the other three could really start pitying him a little. Unlike them, he didn't get much of a choice in life. He was an unfortunate one, not unlike them but still remarkably unlucky.

"Really deep, man. I'm sorry. Sad to hear things went like that for you but at least you got another chance." Said Nate trying to cheer him up.

"A chance at what?" Cole asked, curious. Nate just replied happily.

"Life." This word just made Cole feel a little better. Nate then turned to Kratos. "How about you, big guy?"

"I suggest you mind your own business. My story is one of mostly revenge and death." He replied without much content.

"Was it always like that?"

"No. I was once a proud general of the spartan army. I had a beloved wife, Lyssandra, and sn adored daughter, Calliope. I did not stay with them for too long because of my work, but now I wish I had let go of it and stayed with them. One day, I led the army against the hordes of the barbarians. Despite my best attempt, I was overwhelmed by the enemy. When death was inminent I took the only chance I had left. I sold my soul to the god of war, the very same god who took my dear brother away from me as a child and damned him to a life of imprisonment; Ares, in exchange for the power to slay my enemies. He would go on to use me as a hound of war, against his oppositors. But it was never enough. In an attempt to turn me into a blind killing beast without hesitation, he did the unthinkable. He sent my wife and daughter to die from my blind rampage." The others couldn't help it but feel true sadness and pity. What he described was horrifying and made their skin crawl a little. As a husband and father, Raiden really felt that deep inside. To lose his family would have been a terrible fate that he would never allow himself to experience.

"I was cursed to carry their ashes on my skin and see them in my worst nightmares, every day for the rest of my days. That took me to the edge. I spent years planning to get my revenge, serving the gods under the pretense that they would take the pain away after I had dealt with Ares. But even after I had my revenge against Ares, becoming the new god of war, they told me that could not happen, that I would stay like that forever. I thought that was the end until Zeus himself betrayed me and left me to die. He turned out to be my father, an absent and hateful one. In response, I waged war against all of the Olympus, the whole pantheon, for setting me up. I killed most of them but knowing all the pain I had brought upon the world, I ended my own life thinking it would all be over. But it was not."

"It never is." Cole stated, knowing all too well how it felt, how he felt.

"Sorry about your family, man. My condolences." Said Nate with a serious look. Kratos just sighed a little before resuming his usual stoic look.

"And how about you, Nathan." Raiden asked resuming the talk.

"Me? I go all the way back to a poor orphanage with my brother. We took the name Drake after an ancient explorer, Sir Francis Drake. We even pretended to be his descendants. As you can imagine, there's hardly any work opportunities for a couple of naughty dog boys like us, so we sticked to what we were good at, stealing for a living. But one day, we had to split, go our own ways. Not ideal for a pair of brothers. I meet this guy, Sully, he would go on to teach me all I needed to know to survive and I do to this day. He was the father I never had, a good man. After becoming something of a tomb raider, I met this wonderful woman, Elena. We would have our bad times but I loved her, still do. And then after lots of crazy adventures together, we got married. And what do you, I reunited with my brother, not in a very nice scenario but we got over it. I became a father too. Everything was going fine, we all lived happily ever after, at least until this happened. But I'll get back there. I know I have to." Said Nate, going through his personal story.

"At least you have something to get back too." Kratos told him.

"Yeah. That's what worries me." Nate replied, thinking of how worried his family had to be. He did have something to lose.

All four of them kept exploring the small forest until they found a village. From the hills they managed to see a bunch of small one eyed black creatures armed with spears, trying to fight off a swarm of beasts similar to the polygons they fought last night.

"Should we do something about that?" Asked Nate, to which Cole answered.

"Like storm in and fight them off?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I like that plan." Raiden said before jumping into the fight. Kratos didn't stay back either and went on to engage.

"I'll probably get to like them more, you know. If they don't get us killed." Nate remarked as he drew a weapon and went ahead to help them.

"Oh, what the hell." Cole then charged in too.

In the village, the locals mounted a barricade against the polygons but they could only last for so long.

Suddenly a boulder fell down on their attackers, thrown by Kratos. Cole created an ice barrier to keep the incoming creatures at bay but they were slowly breaking through as these creatuees were bigger than the ones they fought previously.

The team could see that their shape was different too as they pounded against the ice. They resembled lizards with a shell composed by purple shards sprouting from most of their bodies. They stood in four legs and had extended jaws full of diamond-like teeth. Their attacks were quick and wild.

"Ready?" Cole asked as the barrier started cracking.

"Sure thing." Raiden said, holding his sword. The little villager creatures aimed their spears too.

Before the ice could break, Cole shot a napalm strike against the beasts, scorching them and melting the ice on them. Once the water spread, he shot a massive surge of lighting, shocking and electrocuting them in place. The villagers threw their spears and rocks against the beasts, hitting some of their eyes but they still rushed through. That was until Raiden slashed their legs viciously to stop their advance while Nate provided cover fire. To finish, Kratos leaped on top of their skulls and stabbed through them one by one with Cole launching continuous shockwaves too, before landing on the ground

This bought them some time but more beasts were on their way to attack.

"What the hell are those things made of?" Nate asked as he reloaded a gun he borrowed from Ratchet, staring at the shape of the incoming monsters.

"We are about to find out." Kratos said, getting in position to battle. The villagers gathered some catapults and used them throw boulders at the beasts in the distance, slowing them down but one came running at high speed despite the attacks. Kratos then shot forwards with his nemean cestus on his fists and punched the incoming crawler in the head, getting in a power struggle to force it back. Raiden took the opportunity to leap on the creature's head and bury his sword on it before it could open it's mouth to shot a blazing beam

Nate checked if he had any explosives left before feeling something odd wrap around him. Before Nate knew, he was being pulled towards a crawler's mouth.

"Oh shit!" He cursed as it dragged him closer.

"Hang in there!" Yelled Cole as he grabbed one of his arms and pulled back with the villagers grabbing his legs too to put more weight.

"I'm trying to!" Nate yelled as he struggled, before getting an idea. He then used his free arm to reach for an explosive. Once the beast's jaw was wide open, he threw the package into the monster's mouth and shot it in the air while Cole aimed and threw a lightning grenade next to it to heighten the damage. The explosion made the crawler's tongue fall off as part of it's head exploded. Nate fell to the ground next to Cole and the villagers.

"Okay, now this is just plain gross." He said as he removed the giant tongue from himself.

"Are you alright?" Cole asked as he helped Nate back to his feet.

"Yeah and I'll be better when we wipe those shiny suckers out."

"That's the spirit, pal."

A crawler raised it's front legs in attempt to smash Raiden but he quickly slid under the legs to reach it's tail. Now grabbing it, in a huge display of strength, Raiden pulled and started spinning the beast around. After two spins he let go, launching it against the others who were about to attack. Once they fell, Cole charged his lightning and pierced two of them with his bolts.

The villagers jumped from their high spots, landing on a crawler. They tried to pierce it's hide to no avail while the others threw a chain to wrap the legs. Then they ran around them and pulled as hard as they could, making it trip. Raiden went for the head now that it was down and sliced it off in a swing. Every defeated enemy left behind a series of white static orbs that were absorbed by the fighters upon contact giving them a boost in energy.

"Nice." Said Cole as he felt his power increase. Hitting the ground with the amp he caused an electric surge that electrified the crawler's legs, making them lose control.

But the fight was far from over. Chaos spread through the way as the crawler's then shot beams of energy that threatened to get the heroes down.

"Take cover!" Kratos yelled as he rolled out of the beam's way.

Cole gathered the villagers and Nate behind him before launching a thunder strike to clash with the beam back. After focusing his rays, he managed to push back and obliterate the creature's head. They fell back and jumped behind some rocks piled by the villagers to shield from the blasts but they were falling everywhere.

"Any tricks up your sleeves, guys?" Asked Nate, covering his ears for the constant boom. Kratos replied, getting up.

"I have some." He then went running at full speef towards the monsters as they fired at him. When the first strike came, he absorbed the power of the blast using the golden fleece and then shot back at the beasts, stunning them and leaving them open for attack. One of them came running at him Intending to devour him but Kratos wore the boots of Hermes and ran forwards, going through the jaws of the beast. It tried to keep firing at the others but then it stopped cold and crashed down on the ground. Kratos came out of the back with his swords out, victorious. He then summoned the spirits of numerous undead fiends and warriors with the claws of Hades to gang up on the remaining attackers.

"Hold on to something!" Cole yelled as he used the power he had gained and gathered his forces to form a tornado that sucked up the crawlers. As they were suspended in the air, he blasted them all with an enormous lightning storm. Kratos and Raiden buried their swords on the ground while the others grabbed onto them to avoid being sucked in.

After a short moment and making sure the crawlers were disposed of, the tornado faded away and Cole could put his hands down to rest. He then turned to the villagers as did his fellows.

"It's okay, we're only here to help." To his surprise, they all started communicating too in their very own way. However, only Cole could tell what they were trying to say.

"Do you even understand a word of what they're saying?" Raiden asked Cole from behind.

"A little. Did you know the brain produces and works based around a certain amount of electricity? That's the reason why I can read some of their thoughts. It's like catching a signal on a radio."

"So now we've got an universal translator, neat." Nate said jokingly but realizing this would help them.

"What do they say now?" Asked Kratos.

"They wanted to thank us for helping them. They're called Patapons. They say these creatures have preyed on them for a week now. They're coming from the south."

"Then we know where we are heading to." Raiden said. "If they came from there, there's the chance that another portal waits for us there."

"So they say. They know the way but it's a long trip." Cole confirmed for him.

"We have the time for it. Nothing else to do." Kratos stated.

"We should tell the others about this. I just hope they're fine." Nate said, wishfully.

"They should be. I will stay here to protect the village, just hurry up and go get them." Said Cole, earning nods from the others as they got on the way back to the portal.

Meanwhile the rest of the crew awaited around a campfire on the other side.

"Do you think they're okay?" Asked Dante as he laid on the ground with his eyes on the stars above.

"Yeah. We are counting on it." Said Jak, sitting between Ratchet and Sly, still looking at the portal as if waiting patiently.

Then they saw Nate greet them through the portal, alongside Raiden and Kratos.

"Is everything alright?" Asked Nate, noticing that the rest of the crew was looking pretty quiet.

"So far so good." Said Ratchet. "Is it clear?"

"Now it is." Raiden answered.

"Let's go then." Said Dante as he and the others prepared to go into the next location.

"By the way, you guys are gonna love the neighborhood. I think you will get along with the locals, some really nice folks." Nate pointed out.

Far away, the Polygon Man just kept looking at the warriors' prowess and exploits, while preparing more hazards for the next fights.

 **"You know, as much as I like to use my imagination, I think it's time I set them up against some familiar faces. Their welcome wouldn't be complete without some old fellas."**

He then floated towards his newest companions to proceed with the games. A mad robot scientist, a young man in a blue coat wielding an unique sword and a grimmly mechanic owl, among oma few others, all listening to his words.

 **"You know the sitch. Go do your thing, boys. That's why you're here."**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **The Great Escape.**

After the whole group managed to cross the portal to the village, they got to planning their next move with the villagers. Cole had asked the villagers what they knew about the other ways or portals out of there so they could resume their quest.

"So what did they say?" Asked Dante as he walked through the village alongside Cole while the group helped rebuild and defend the village.

"They say they will guide us at night. They know the way to the next portal but the path is dangerous."

"Not too bad, we can make it."

"They also say we were sent by a higher power to aid them, called the almighty. They're in debt, so they'll send us the direction to make sure we arrive safer."

"How considerate." Then they watched as Raiden and Kratos helped by carrying and putting up some blocks and stones to cover the walls. Ratchet was helping them build some catapults and watchtowers. They also made walls out of the remains of the crawlers to buy some time.

Radec sat on the ground, sharpenning his combat knife and counting the bullets in his pistol. He wouldn't try anything reckless as the others were the only way he had to get back home. Ratchet and Clank were set on fixing Radec's ship to see if it could take off but it would take time, so they kept working on it.

The villagers brought them some water and fruits to replenish themselves. They all sat in the center of the village, gathered until the night fell. They felt warm for the first time in a while.

"Alright, here's the plan, we are taking the tunnels to reach the portal. They say it's full of mist, shadows and dangers out there, so we could use a couple of eyes in the sky. Ratchet, how did things go with the ship?"

"It's still malfunctioning. I don't have the pieces or tools to fix it to it's original state but if I give it enough kick it should serve as a chopper at least." Ratchet replied.

"That would do the trick." Said Clank.

"Then do it. If you see our signal, you bring it there, not before, don't waste energy or fuel.'

"The beasts will be waiting for us anyway." Nariko said.

"Yeah, you know, I think Jak and I will stay back and keep an eye on Ratchet, just to watch his back." Daxter said, notably scared.

"C'mon, Dax, he can handle himself. Besides, how could we miss the fight?" Jak said, much to Daxter's worry.

"In a few minutes we'll go and take the path to the portal. Get ready, all of you." Cole told them as he got up.

"So that's the plan. We go, fight our way through the horde and find this supposed portal. Simple as that." Dante said in understanding.

"That's the general idea, boy." Nate said, taking another sip of his water.

The minutes passed and the crew went into the tunnel. They left Sly and Nate with Ratchet and Clank to try and keep them safe. The others just walked the tunnel with some torches at hand, following the instructions the patapon warriors gave them to guide themselves through. They spent a while talking about themselves there, keeping their minds busy. Especially Dante, who began telling his personal story.

"So in the end, my brother and I split. I ended up with Kat, thinking most of our problems were done. Then this shit happened and now I'm stuck here with you." Dante told the others, finishing his story if just to break the ice.

"Your home sounds like an interesting place, son of Sparda. I will consider going there just to slay some demons." Kratos said, slightly amused.

"You might be less contemptable than I thought." Nariko told Dante.

"Gee, thanks. That's very sweet coming from you." He remarked in a joking manner, given the tension. With Cole and Radec, the colonel was starting to inquire further to get some info on his forced cohorts.

"So what is with your powers?" He asked, seeing how he lit his hands with electricity to see in the darkness.

"Oh, so you want to talk now, huh?"

"Only if I have a reason to."

"Let's just say that I'm gifted, in ways that some people can't begin to understand. A conduit."

"Our troops back at Helghan could have used someone like that. People must have viewed you as a god back at home." Said the colonel, digging further.

"More like a demon. I grew used to that after a while." Cole replied.

"Ah, yes. Mankind fears what it doesn't understand and that fear leads to hate." But the crew stopped when they heard a conmotion on the earth above them, small rocks falling from the ceiling.

"Looks like we'll have company outside." Raiden said.

"That was to be expected." Radec agreed. "I would be disappointed if we didn't."

"Keep moving, just don't call their attention." Cole told them as they made their way to the exit. Once there, they took a look outside to examine the perimeter.

"Do you see anything?" Kratos asked as he held a human ladder with Jak and Daxter on the top.

"It's clear for now. Get on the move." Jak said as he and Daxter dropped the rope for them to climb.

Once outside of the hole, they started moving more carefully, given that they were exposed now. The group looked at the direction of the cave in the distance, their destination but the way was all surrounded by a large and extensive mist.

"From now on, it looks like an easy trip." Said Dante as he started walking but he was stopped cold by Kratos.

"Do not let first looks deceive you, boy." He then pointed at the figures and shapes rhat were formed in the mist, a horde of sentries covered in blue robes, with their hands gripping swords and axes made out of diamonds.

"Guess there's no reason to play quiet anymore." Thought Cole out loud as he lit up his hands, intending to fight. The others followed but were interrupted when two of the hooded figures were pierced from behind, by some sort of spears thrown by an unseen figure. They fell to the ground, splattering a blue liquid.

The other stalkers turned around to see a dark and tall figure with a weird shaped head, almost like a pyramid, walking at them, slowly dragging what looked like a giant sword but up close turned out to be an oversized knife. He raised it over his head and before they had a chance to block, he brought the blade down, splitting one of them in two, vertically. The team just watched as this butcher then swung his great knife to the right, taking off another stalker's head but the remaining one stabbed him through the chest. The butcher flinched a little but responded by grabbing the creature's arm, and tearing it off. He then snapped it's neck with a twist.

"Okay, so what now?" Jak asked after watching the slaughter.

"I don't know. Want to go reason with him?" Asked the colonel, sarcastically.

"Sure, after you." Said Jak with a smirk, just as sarcastically.

"Guys, don't mind but I think he's looking at us." Cole guessed from the way he turned to see them, as if to examine them, but he quickly resumed his walk with minor concern, not even sparing a second glance. He had taken damage and he still had to walk a lot through the dark.

"Alright, looks like the Pyramid Head is out of the window, let's keep moving." Cole told them as they ran through the vast mist. Some other stalkers tried to stop them but Nariko and Kratos chopped them down as fast as they appeared, not even slowing down their march.

They went on until they could see the entrance to the cave in the long distance. Cole then sent a massive surge to the sky, signaling Ratchet, Sly and Nate to come forth in the ship. It took them a couple of minutes to appear but they got there. Cole smiled at that. They landed the ship right in front of him.

"How did everything go?" Sly asked.

"So far so good. You should have seen the butcher though, the guy was seriously creepy." Daxter forced himself to reply.

"There's that. But we made it, let's just run a little longer and get through the portal while we still can to finish our great escape." But after Jak's short speech, the group's movement was cut short when they heard the ominous voice belonging to the Polygon Man, taunting them.

 **"Great escape might be an overstatement, don't you think? Don't get ahead of yourselves because my money says, you ain't going nowhere. Not until you greet these guys properly, that is."**

Before they could even wonder what he meant, there was a massive lightning strike that came down very close the group, the shockwave knocking them away and blowing up the ship they had been using.

When the smoke cleared and the sight was clear, there was a major shock on Kratos' face as well as a glare full of anger. Then a tall and musclebound man came from the small crater that was created by the impact. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be completely white and shining bright. He sported a long white hair and beard.

"You know, from all the bastards that I've had, Kratos; you are by far the one I hated the most." From that phrase alone, most of the group could figure out this was the father of Kratos. But it also meant he was the god of thunder and king of Mount Olympus. "It gave me some solace to know that you ended your pathetic life."

"Get to the portal, now. We don't have time to waste." Cole ordered, knowing their predicament all too well. A fight would ensue. Most of the group went, not wanting to debate with Cole, except for Kratos who was compelled to stay for his own reasons and to buy time for the others. He charged head on in an attempt to tackle Zeus, only to realize that his powers had been increased as he just backhanded him away.

But Zeus wasn't alone. Next to him stood a white haired and pale young man wearing a black trenchcoat and blue scarf. He drew out his sword and then glared at Dante before he got to run with the others, having caught his attention already.

"Hi there, lil' bro." He said to Dante, throwing him into a fit of confusion and anger.

"Vergil, you rotten bastard! You are working for these bastards now?" Dante spat with venom at his brother, causing him to smirk a little.

"Working with them. They'll get their worlds and I'll get mine, it is only fair. And nice to see you too, brother. Don't you think I forgot our unfinished business."

"Neither did I." Dante then rushed at Vergil trying to get a good hit on him with his sword but to his surprise, Vergil stepped aside at high speed, avoiding the blow casually and slashing Dante's back before taking a couple of steps back.

"I thought you were better than this, Dante." He said with a glare, looking down on his brother.

Zeus then launched a lightning bolt at the rest of the group as they ran to the cave. The impact caused an avalanche that brought several boulders down on the team. As awfully close as they were, Raiden jumped into the air and sliced them apart many times, letting the tiny pieces to fall off harmlessly as they kept moving.

Before Zeus could throw another one to stop their advance, he was interrupted by Kratos, who ran wild at him after getting on his feet.

"Zeus!" Kratos exclaimed, taking his attention away from the team. Zeus set his sight on him and discharged a massive surge of lightning. Kratos did his best to block the attack with his blades and stand his ground.

Now entering the cave, Cole looked back at the heat of a battle that was being unleashed. Like hell he would leave them fight that alone. He turned to Ratchet and gave him some instructions.

"Take good care of them, I'll be back in a minute. Don't you wait for me. Got it?"

"Yeah, but where are you going?"

"I have to help them, Ratchet." Cole then ran and jumped into the air, hovering as he did to get there faster.

Dante could barely keep up with his brother due to his augmented stats. He managed to distance himself and then reached for his guns and fired them non stop on Vergil but he just deflected the bullets with his sword, zooming at Dante until he got up close, delivering a devastating jab to his windpipe. Dante felt the air leave him as his back slammed against a large rock, cracking it down. Vergil then turned to Zeus, who has still shooting thunder at Kratos, who dodged and blocked right and left, trying to get his hands on him.

"I have a score to settle with the fool, you can kill the others." Vergil told Zeus before he ran back at Dante's position, leaving him to glare at an angered Kratos, ready to fight him.

Now close, Kratos swung at Zeus, furiously slashing with his blades. Zeus tagged him by grabbing both of his arms and sending an electric surge through his body.

"Just pitiful. You have not changed in the slightest." He taunted. The ghost of sparta could feel the volts get to his brain but he wouldn't give in to the pain. He jumped in place, raising his legs high and then slammed them hard on the god's jaw, getting him to let go and then flipping backwards on the air but before he could land, Zeus punched him on the face, drawing some blood from the demigod.

Zeus smiled at this, before being shot with lightning, his own element, from behind. He turned to see Cole, who stood up and readied himself for a fight.

"Oh, he has changed, alright? He's got friends now." Cole said defiantly to the god of thunder.

"Foolish choice, mortal. Brave, but foolish." This said, he turned to Cole and cocked a lightning bolt in his hands before throwing it right away but just as it landed, Cole jumped in front of and took the bolt, letting his system absorb it for energy. It felt way different than normal lighting, it amped him even further. Relentless, Zeus teleported towards him and picked him up by the neck but to his surprise, Kratos came in wearing the nemean cestus, punching Zeus far away. Shaken a little, Zeus turned just in time to see Kratos nail him with an uppercut that sent him high into the air. As he soared, trying to regain balance, Cole saw his chance and unleashed a napalm blast, shooting him off the air. Using this new gained power, Cole joined Kratos in the fight.

Dante got back on his feet and jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a downward slash from Vergil, drawing his sword out again to challenge his brother.

"Goddamn it, Dante. I think I'll have to knock some sense into you." Said Vergil as he kept slashing at his younger brother.

"When did that ever work, huh?" Dante responded while parrying and countering Vergil's striked at high speed. They kept going for a while until their swords clashed hard against each other. Dante took the chance to headbutt him away right there. Vergil staggered a little and when his vision cleared, Dante wasn't in front of him, he had jumped over and landed behind him. Vergil reacted just in time and moved away from the next slash but it still went across his chest, drawing a little blood and leaving a huge scar. He backed away, looking at his wound, then back at Dante.

"Not bad, slick, but not too good either." He said in a serious manner before resuming his fighting stance. A white aura surrounded him and white sparks flew from it, creating a projection of himself to fight with him. He went on to deliver a fast series of cuts that Dante couldn't even avoid or block, leaving him scarred and on his knees.

Vergil raised his sparkling blade once again, only for Nariko to step in an thrust her sword hard against him, piercing his shoulder. Vergil gripped the weapon that had gone through him hard in order to keep Nariko from retrieving it but this gave Dante the chance to get up and slice Vergil's neck with a fierce strike, leaving him dizzy but still alive. Dante then followed with a barrage of bullets that blasted his brother away. He then grabbed Nariko's hand and rushed towards the portal with her.

"You came back for me, why?" He asked while running wild.

"I would not let one of my fellows die, not even you." Nariko asured him. It made him feel a bit happy, to be honest. She was kind of a keeper, not like he would say that out loud though. A kindred spirit even.

Cole and Kratos kept trying to fend off Zeus or at least survive his assault. Angered, the king of Olympus smacked the ground with his fists, causing it to shake violently and burst with electricity, making his two foes lose some balance before teleporting to them and smacking them down on the hard ground with a double fist punch. He put Kratos in a chokehold and tried to crush his neck but Cole jumped on his back and after two hits from the amp, began freezing him over, giving Kratos a chance to stab Zeus in the leg and elbow his gut so he would let go but Zeus kicked him on the chest and the threw Cole at him, causing both to bounce on the ground and roll.

But a third challenger approached, swinging down an oversized blade on Zeus' back, causing him to grunt in pain. He turned to see who it was, leading Cole and Kratos to realize it was the Pyramid Head, coming to their aid. As he raised and prepared a second swing, Zeus intercepted it by catching his great knife with a hand and punching him in the belly with the other.

"What are you? Another wretched scourge from Hades?" Zeus wondered. But he then felt his feet being frozen in place by Cole as well as a series of tendrils coming from Pyramid Head, violently wrapping him up. Before he knew it or got the time to release himself, Kratos ran at him, cocked his arms and punched him off with a two fist strike. After staggering a little, the next thing he saw was a blinding flash of light coming from Helios' head, which Kratos held firmly.

As he shook his arms trying to call more lightning, Cole lifted him off the ground and tossed him far away with his concentrated telekinesis, sending him almost a mile away. He then turned to Kratos.

"You have been carrying a disembodied head all along?" Asked Cole, finding it a bit off putting.

"Yes, and it is not the first one." Kratos replied before looking at Pyramid Head. "So you are with us then?"

Pyramid Head limited himself to just point back at their destination, reminding them of their mission. With Zeus off their tails, Cole, Kratos and now with them Pyramid Head went for the portal, hoping that Dante had done well against his brother. They came across him and Nariko while crossing the cave's entrance.

"How did the family reunion turn out?" Cole asked him.

"His older brother and him have issues, but other than that, we are fine." Nariko said for Dante. After running a little longer, they were greeted by the rest of the group.

"I was thinking we would have to leave without you." Said Radec with his usual cold demeanor.

"Maybe you should have." Kratos said to him.

Not wasting a second, the group all jumped through the portal. The last one to do so was Jak, who before getting through, blasted the ceiling with his grenade launcher, leaving all the rocks to fall and the cave to crumble on their pursuers if they got close.

On the other side, the crew saw how the portal began it's closure. The place they ended up in was dark and wet. After the whole group got back on their feet.

"Wow, so the Pyramid Head is with us now?" Nate asked, seeing how he joined them on their escape.

"Sort of, he helped us a lot." Cole answered, looking at Pyramid Head.

"What is this place anyway?" Nariko wondered after looking around in the darkness of the underground they were standing in.

"My guess is a sewer, princess. Not very fancy, true, but at least there's no eyes or heat on us down here." Said Dante, inspecting their current location.

"Great, but are we not going to talk about the crazy guys that you just fought? What is it with them?' Ratchet asked Kratos and Dante, to which Kratos replied.

"That swine you watched me fight was Zeus. God of thunder, ruthless king of Olympus and my father, as much as I hate it. Like I told you, I killed him before I killed myself. But it seems I will have to try again, harder this time." Dante then proceeded to tell his part.

"My brother, Vergil."

"You told us about him back at the tunnel." Nariko said after being reminded. Dante smirked at it.

"Yeah, I did. He wants his payback. I beat him before but now he's different. I don't know what he did to himself but he is stronger, faster, I just couldn't keep up, I can't beat him like that." Dante's talk was cut off when Nariko slapped him to make him snap.

"Nonsense, you idiot. You are breathing, are you not?" Dante just nodded slowly, trying to catch her drift and see what she was getting to.

"Then he didn't beat you. He might hold an edge now, but you will adapt, overcome and win. Got that memorized?"

"Yeah, I think I did." He replied, caressing his cheek.

"Besides, you still have all of us in your corner." Ratchet told him, patting his shoulder.

"Thanks."

"So the god of thunder and a demon-angel crossbreed. Might sound hard, but we'll get over it." Nathan said.

"And kick their asses." Daxter added, fist bumping Jak.

"If you gentlemen are done with all the motivational talk, I would suggest you come take a look to find a way out of here." Radec told them, searching for an exit or escape route.

"Would be glad to." Said Raiden, joining him in the walk. The group followed but when they took a turn on the next corner, they came across some sick and messy creatures.

The corpses and burned skeletons of several soldier-like beasts laid all over the sewer, dirty as expected. Clear signs of a battle or gunfight that went down in there.

"Okay, what the heck went down here?" Ratchet asked out of natural shock. The odd shapes and looks of the skeletons were weird even by his standards. Everyone just looked around at the scene before Radec focused and examined the situation, putting it together.

"All of these things seemed to have died in combat. Look at their bullet wounds and burn marks. My guess is that they engaged with forces less advanced but better prepared and then got taken out, possibly with a rifle and then a flamethrower for good measure." As Radec made his deductions, Pyramid Head grabbed one of the fallen creatures by the ankles and held it up, analyzing it's inhuman build.

"So somebody else got here and did this." Cole suggested.

"Close. It seems more like the aftermath of a full blown battle. Maybe it was a part of a bigger war." Radec assumed.

"This meaning that out there it's worse." Nate said.

"Possibly." Radec concluded. Then he turned to see Jak climbing up the ladder and taking a peek outside.

"Guys, I think you should see this." Jak called for them. One by one the group followed him and took the exit. Once out there, everyone stood looking around at their new found scenario. It was a ravaged city, devastated by what seemed to be a big scale war. It looked somewhat earthly, which led the group to think it had been the target of an invasion.

"This place looks worse than the cities my men took over." Radec commented.

"Before we go any further, we'll need a hideout. We can't stand in the middle of the street like sitting ducks." Cole told them. Then Nate eyed some sort of barren and deserted bar across the street.

"How about that?" He asked. Cole nodded, as did the rest of the group, intending to search and examine the place. The whole block might have been a battlefield so they figured out the cover would be useful. They had managed to escape, but they had to stay safe and watch out for any hazards the Polygon Man could throw at them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

 **The heat of war.**

The crew walked down the barren streets of what looked to be an invaded New York. It didn't take them long to find an abandonned bar that they could use as a safe house for the time being. At the time, they didn't have anywhere to go besides there. Colonel Radec took a careful look through the windows to see if there were any enemies inside.

"Is it all clear?" Jak asked him, ready and in position to kick down the door and gun down any opposite forces if found inside.

"So it seems, but I wouldn't bet on it." He replied.

Pyramid Head then raised his hand and motioned for Jak to move aside and stay back as he just pushed the door open and went inside. He raised his great knife, checking the perimeter, finding a few dead creatures laying down. He picked them up and tossed them outside through the front door, then signaled the team to come in. The skeletons thrown looked to be of the same species as the ones found in the sewers a little earlier. They were wielding some sort of advanced weaponry with them, futuristic rifles and grenades, which Radec and Nate found use in, so they looted them.

They entered carefully, with their weapons out pointing at any potential trouble. They explored the place until they concluded it was clear.

"Not gonna lie, I was kind of expecting a fight here." Said Ratchet as he lowered his omni wrench.

"Don't worry about it, pal. Pretty sure there's plenty of fights waiting for us out there." Said Nate, taking a good look through the window. "Because I think we've got some company."

Outside, a moderate group of the same creatures they had found dead in the sewers began making their way to the team's temporary safe house.

"Oh yeah?" Dante asked after hearing Nate's warning. He made his way to the window and after taking a good peek, he drew out his pistols and fired up against the potential intruders as they drew their weapons and tried to shoot them. "How about now?"

The crew watched how their potential attackers laid down the barren streets in front of them.

"I am sure that there are more waiting for us out there." Nariko pointed out, drawing her blade.

"Then perhaps we should go send our regards personally." Radec supplied, thinking of a full blown battle.

"Yeah, well, first thing's first. If we go out, we better stick together and know what we are doing." Cole spoke up getting everyone's attention. "There must be a portal waiting for us like last time and if so, I'm sure we will see more of your old friends try to stop us."

"If Zeus shows up again then I will finish what I started. I will make sure he does not see the end of the day." Kratos said, voicing his angry thoughts.

"I feel you. Vergil's got what's coming for him, now more than ever." Dante told him, narrowing his eyes, lost in his thirst for payback against his rogue brother.

"Now, now, you guys will get your due but right now our best chance is to roll with the plan." Ratchet told them. Right after saying that, however, Ratchet's senses picked a sound that sounded an awful lot like an object soaring through the air at them.

Kratos picked the same sound just in time, reacting inmediately to alert the others.

"Everybody get down!" He yelled as they all ducked, avoiding the heavy artillery projectile that was fired at them.

"Get out through the back." Radec ordered as he crawled and got his hands on a weapon he spotted behind the counter. It was a sniper rifle, good for distant enemies but it wouldn't help if he didn't have a good vantage point.

When the crew opened the door they were greeted by an attacker who held an advanced combat rifle. Jak fired one of his red rounds at his head, blasting it to pieces before taking his weapon and tossing it at Nate, who grabbed it with a firm grip.

The crew exited quickly while Ratchet and Radec provided cover fire with their guns before quickly running outside to meet with the others.

"Can you hold up?" Ratchet asked them, seeing how the enemy took them by surprise with their heavy weaponry.

"Maybe with a tank." Dante replied before looking past the alley and watching very concerned how the enemy moved their vehicles. "Oh, crap"

"What is it?"

"They've got a tank."

And it was true, for the enemies chasing them had a tank, which they got after ravaging the area for weapons to their advantage during their occupation of New York city.

"Any creative input on what to do about that damn thing?" Nate asked the others, a little too worried.

"How about we get off our butts and go give those jackasses a solid piece of our mind?!" Daxter suggested out loud to the team.

Naturally, the team got in position to strike back against the attackers, only to see someone else deal with them quick and quite efficiently. A long barrage of gattling gun fire found it's way into the enemies. Most of them were brutally torn apart, falling all over the streets and letting their weapons hit the ground.

The tank tried to aim a shell and locate whoever shot the others but it was quickly met with a rocket launched from a vantage point, dispatching the pilots.

"What the heck?" Nate asked upon that sight. "Who did that?"

"It wasn't me, the shots came from a certain height." Radec replied, just as confused.

"Well, I don't know but if they wanted us they would have us already." Cole said, raising his hands to avoid any ensuing conflict with this third party.

"I'd suggest we stay on their good side." Clank added, annalyzing the situation.

"They must be ten men at least." Kratos assumed.

"You got that wrong." Came from a voice not too far. The team watched how a figure dropped itself from it's hideout on top of a small building.

After it met the ground with a thud, they stared at it for a moment. It was a man, wearing a hood, a small mask covering his mouth, leaving his bright yellow eyes exposed. He wielded a gattling gun, which hanged from him. This had to be the one who took down the attackers.

"So just one of you?" Colonel Radec questioned. The man smirked.

"Yeah, simple as that. Who are you all? You don't look like chimeras to me, though you do look strange."

"We are not from around here but that does not mean we are the enemy." Kratos reassured the man. He adcknowledged the man as a warrior and respected that. He hadn't done anything to impose himself as an enemy so they would keep it that way.

"Yeah, we're just swinging by, let us do our thing and we'll be outta here in a flash." Daxter tried to reason.

"I have no problem with that but you see, there's a war out there. Bullets fly and cover gets scarse. If you want you can go and I'll leave you to your own luck but if you plan to make it through, you'll have to play smarter."

"What do you propose then, scout?" Sly asked.

"There's a swarm of chimeras up north. The creatures that tried to get you and ravaged the whole place. They were separated from their main army after a battle. They won and killed a lot of soldiers but there was a cost and they lost numbers too. They're kinda lost, perfect chance to strike a death blow."

"So you want us there to face the horde for you?" Jak deduced. The mam seemed to have a plan.

"With me." The man corrected.

"Promising, what else?" Radec inquired further now that his interest was caught.

"They have supplies and weapons that can be used. We split the bounty, I take my half and you take yours to do whatever it is you aim at for a living. Sound fine?"

"Fine enough." Ratchet replied. The team was growing fond of the idea, it suited their agenda and perhaps it was the right thing to do. These chimeras as he called them had made a mess out of earth.

"How do you know so much of them?" Clank asked before they agreed.

"I have eyes all around. And it helps if you share their blood. What you're looking at is a hybrid, product of their meddling with mutation. They wanted to enlarge their army. Didn't work out too well, for them at least. The name's Hunter, by the way."

Now that explained the yellow eyes and physical enhancements. The crew was impressed to see that the enemy's methods involved experimenting on humans just like that, but it was to be expected in such a hellish war. The team exchanged looks.

"Heh, good to know." Dante mused, not minding too much. There were bigger worries.

"So what do you say?"

"Guide us the right way and you will have our gratitude and help. But do not try anything stupid with us." Nariko warned him in her usual demeanor, earning looks from the crew.

"I'd say we have a deal. Alright, let's do this." Ratchet concluded, earning some nods.

"Just like a walk in the park." Nathan joked. "An alien infested, blazing park."

"Good." Hunter said, clapping his hands and picking up his weapons. "We better get moving our feet because we don't have the whole day before they reagroup."

All things said, the crew made their way to the location discussed with Hunter as a guide. They found some resistance from the chimera on their way but they did not present a big deal of a threat.

Meanwhile, many miles away stood erected a grimm building which was being used a command post not only by the chimera but also their leading allies.

On top of it, a long haired man in a fancy business suit smirked at the sight below him. A large army being supplied with advanced weaponry, ready to wage war and push back against the opposition.

"Hell of a view. I'm sure it will improve further once the whole world bends to our will. Isn't that so?" He then turned to greet his companions.

"Mankind would have destroyed itself regardless, Calypso. At least we are giving them a fighting chance. I think it's better this way." Vergil, brother of Dante, affirmed.

"Only the strong shall survive in this world. And why stop there when there are more worlds waiting for our godhand?" Zeus supplied. The whole affair and place reminded him of Mount Olympus when it was it's peak. All before his bastard had to go there and undo it with his rage. For that he would pay soon.

"If our guests are as resiliant as you have made them sound then I'm confident that you will see them soon." Calypso said.

"Only that this time we will take good measures." Vergil claimed. "Even if that implies bringing some extra hands."

A pair of bright robotic eyes were seen as a large flying figure landed right behind them. An owl under a hard metal shell, his eyes full of desire for revenge against an old nemesis.

"Sooner or later, the Cooper clan will be extinguished, like a match stick in a blizzard, but my hate will be eternal."

 **"Nice to see you getting along."** Came from the voice of the ancient lord behind this gathering of the coalition. **"Because when the veil goes up, your old foes will be in for quite a spectacle. I gave you an army, it's up to you to play the cards."**

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 **Aaaaand, cut! How was that for a comeback? Hope it was up to the expectations. I had fun with this but it was a bitch to write. I added the final touches just today now that I got out of my author's block cell. All suggestions, reviews and views are dearly appreciated and mean a lot to me. If you care, I care. Now, to reply to all reviewers:**

 **Reyel: That's cool, man. Thanks for the input and support. I plan to make a Kratos MCU story at some point so it's a good thing you at least know him, you could check it.**

 **The Leane Hunter 9: Thank you very much for that. I like your work and it's nice to have the support of a fellow PSABR writer with so much experience. My respects, bud.**

 **Mr. Spore: Yup, totally. Clever guess.**

 **Guest: Thanks a lot. It means a lot to me, you're cool.**

 **Sending the best vibes on your way, y'all. Stay tuned for the next one which hopefully won't get delayed.**


	7. War Heads

The day went on in the ravaged land of New York. The Chimera kept going with their strikes, but so did the crew.

Tagging along with Hunter had it's benefits, the man knew the streets perfectly as if he had a map in his mind and he also knew how to avoid detection. The shady alleyways where one could vanish from sight, the sewer system and where it led, the safest lairs and buildings in the area as well as the transport routes that the chimera used for their weapons and soldiers, he knew all that.

He had his means to contact the army and provide them enough fire power and intel to make a profit if the price was right. After all, when you are good at something it's better to not do it for free. In a way he was happy with his job since he got paid every now and then to do things he loved despite the war and it's consequences.

Now was probably not a good season for him though, because ever since the Chimera went through some serious upgrades and replenished their stock thanks to an unknown party, his success had decreased considerably. The military and all resistance were getting whooped left and right when they finally came close to picking apart the Chimera by their roots. The alien forces had acquired some fine hardware that Hunter didn't mind admitting, would make fine additions to his collection if he could just get close enough to get a hand on it.

But given the current ordeal, Hunter wound up with only one solution for these issues: come out of hiding and start fighting.

Then like a pure miracle, like some sort of gift from a Providence, he met with a bunch of people, rare and special people that were ready and armed to the teeth for the war against the invaders. A band of brothers and warriors that woud solve all of his problems if he solved theirs. And being the businessman he was, that sounded like a fair trade.

So, after helping them fend off some chimeras and giving them a helping hand, Hunter and the crew banded together. Now he was guiding them through the mean streets plagued by the Chimera in what seemed like a messed up tour and to their own credit, they were doing just fine.

A loud and nasty scream came from a wounded chimera soldier as it was disarmed and his body smashed on top of a car by Pyramid Head. The fiend tried to break free desperately but Pyramid Head no sold the attempts. He raised the Great Knife with his right arm and in a strong swing, he brought it down on the enemy, cleaving it and the car in half. It was an instant kill.

Another chimera jumped from it's cover with a weapon at hand but as soon as it did, it was greeted with a bullet to the face, shot by Radec.

So far the crew's walk had been simple as that, following Hunter's lead, minding their own business, dispatching any foe on their as soon as they popped up and talking just a little on the way.

"What's with these spooks that they just keep showing their mugs every minute?" Daxter asked as he grew weary of the gritty atmosphere and sneaky fiends showing up every now and then.

"You know how it is, Dax, it ain't home if there ain't a bunch of ugly suckers firing at you and getting fired back." Jak said to Daxter to calm him down. "Upside is, more ass to kick."

"I'd like to share your enthusiasm, naughty dog." Nate said with a smile as he walked and made a few pauses every now and then to loot the enemies down.

"Yeah, that's the spirit. You guys will feel right at home when you make it to the battlefront. If we make it that far, that is." Hunter told Jak and the others as they marched.

Through the length of the team's walk, some of them spent the time interacting, trying to start conversations to keep their minds busy.

Dante approached Nariko in her lonely strut.

"Listen, I was thinking that I'd need to get some extra practice if I want to beat my brother next time. Now, I'm usually prideful about this sorta thing but with how things are, if you'd like to help me train a bit, that would be really cool. Sorry if I suck at words but you're one of the few women I know, so yeah, there's that." He cleverly discussed, careful with his choice of words to avoid upsetting the warrior girl in any way.

"Your courting ritual is very strange, demon." Nariko noted. That statement made Dante roll his eyes.

"I wouldn't call it that, lady. It's more of an open invitation to kill time and gaining some strength from it." Dante tried to explain. Nariko gave it some thought.

"Tell me, do you find joy in killing? The act of taking a life, does it fulfill you?" Nariko inquired, eyeing Dante with newfound interest.

"Not in the kills themselves, precisely. Well, maybe if it's some ghouls and freaks who actually deserve it, my world and yours are better off without them. But what I've got a knack for, what excites my blood and bones and makes my day is the feel I get when I'm hacking and slashing a horde. Wether it's swords or guns that I'm using, it just get me off everytime. Nothing beats killing the freak who took your parents away and cutting his legacy of heathens."

Nariko smiled a little at Dante's bold declaration.

"I think I might relate to that." She then drew her blade and showed it to Dante from up close. "Do you see my sword?"

"Yeah, it looks fancy. What about it?"

"The thing about it is the polarizing nature of it, the irony. This tool of destruction is aimed to anihilate the enemies in my path, to defend my loved ones and everybody who stands by my side. It is magical, with powers infused by the gods down to it's core. Using it in battle has kept me alive for the longest time. Yet it is also meant to drain my life away, until I am depleted. Battle after battle, I went through knowing how high the price was, what it meant to wield it and be worthy."

"And so?"

"I realized a greater purpose was there. My life is a small price to pay for the well being of those I care about, if you ask me. So I gathered up my courage and fought until that day came."

"And that's how you died and wound up here, right?" Dante asked with attention. Nariko nodded calmly. Dante rubbed the back of his head deep in thought at what he heard.

"Well, I'll be damned. You really are something else. And here I was going to ask if I could borrow the damn thing." Nariko shook her head at the words.

"I don't wish the painful burden of the heavenly sword to befall on any of these people. Not even you." Nariko stated in a grimm manner.

"Huh, well, thanks, I guess. Think it will still kill you when this is all over?" Dante asked with concern. Nariko shook it off.

"If this is all over at some point, that is. My vitality hasn't slipped away so far but we will have to wait and see. If death comes to me, I will greet it like an old friend, with no fear nor regrets." Nariko valiantly stated. Dante whistled for a bit from how bold her statement was.

"That's admirable. Too bad I don't have your attitude for this stuff. I value my life and I'd rather keep it, you know? I have some unfinished business to live for." Dante said, thinking of all the demons that still plagued his world and had to be put down for good, and of course, Vergil, who from the looks of it got the sweetest part of the interdimensional deal that they faced now.

"As in your sibling rivalry?" Nariko guessed, and she did it right. Dante smirked.

"That's right, you get me."

"And I pity you. I had a sister, one of my reasons to live and her safety was my goal. She meant the world to me. I cannot fathom the pain that it would be to have your own blood turn against you."

"Now that... that's just an awful feeling. See, Vergil and I weren't always like that, it used to be different, used to be good. No matter how hard things got, we stayed together, we fought together. I thought he was some bloody hero but then things went to hell. Had to choose between him and mankind and guess what I chose? I felt a bit lonely after it, sure. But I got used to it." Dante said as he relived the experience.

"And now he is back to haunt you. What an experience. You know, for a demon, I think I'm feeling a lighter half of you." Nariko commented.

Dante half jokingly chuckled at her comment.

"Lady, that's because you only know one half of the story. Our father was a demon, Sparda. Our mother on the other hand, quite the opposite, she was an angel, named Eve. You do know what an angel is, right? The winged agents of God and all that fluff?"

"I can work up an idea. What you mean to tell me is that you have a dark side, yet also a light one, correct?"

Dante nodded with a squint.

"Yeah, some things you just don't mix. Look at me, I'm the living proof of that."

"From what you tell me, I wouldn't say you came out that bad."

"How reassuring."

At some point, a warning from Hunter made the crew slow their pace to perceive something. Sounds not too distant that his enhanced senses managed to catch. He then quickly signaled for everyone to hide in an alleyway behind some trash with him. They relunctantly agreed and rushed for cover.

Hidden in the dark, they could make out the figures of an advancing troop of the Chimera not too far away. This one seemed more organized than the previous ones that simply drifted away from their ranks.

"Why are we waiting here? Why don't we just take the fight to them like all others?" Nariko questioned, her sword ready to bath in blood of the heathens.

"And warn their friends up ahead? Be patient." Radec countered, thoughtfully studying the enemies and scanning everything from their equipment and armor to their vehicles. These guys were better packed. "Coon, what do you see?"

Sly paid no mind to the nickname and using his binoccucom, he set his sights on the marching horde of creatures.

"These guys must be frequenting the same jewelry as the fiends we left behind in the other worlds, because they're looking shiny. They've got the big guns." Sly observed as Hunter, Ratchet, Jak and Daxter joined at his side to have a look with their own binnoculars too.

"Definitely seeing a strong pattern here." Ratched commented upon observation.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked, unaware of what the new purple weaponry and armor on the chimera could mean.

"Means that your pest has a supplier, which is our pest, which means that for the sake of public health, their extermination is a double utmost priority."

"Believe the guy, he's a space nazi." Nate joked a bit earning a subtle glare from Radec but only a mildly confused look from Hunter.

"What the hell is a nazi?" Hunter asked. While most of the team didn't know either, those who did looked at him with shared confusion.

"Sorry that I forgot, but what year did you say this was on earth?" Cole politely asked.

"I don't keep a calendary, but I assure you we haven't hit the 20's yet."

Now that explained everything for Nate, Cole, Dante, Raiden. Couldn't have World War 2 if the whole world had a common enemy from outer space. Didn't know if they should envy Hunter or pity him. A sudden explosion and the echo of a few shots fired by the chimera about a block away answered that for them. It was pity, they should pity him.

After a while, the path became clear and the team's march became possible once again. Hunter led them through routes that allowed them to get to their destination without any further inconveniences from the chimera.

Hunter eventually sighted his command post in the distance and rushed to it excitedly now that they were out of the harm's way.

"This way, folks." The crew followed right behind and they caught sight of the same thing as Hunter, leading to various different reactions in result.

"You have a beautiful home, Hunter." Ratchet tried to cheer up as he looked at the old and damaged warehouse on the end of the street. It's doors and windows were covered only with wooden boards and even then, the bricks in many spots had been eaten away to the point where they left holes here and there, leaving it exposed.

As if on cue, a couple of bricks fell off.

"Bloody inspiring." Radec added with no doubt.

"You wouldn't keep rats out with that thing, let alone the freaks on our tails." Daxter criticized, grabbing his own tail as if to prove his point.

"I said I had a command post, not a five star hotel. And don't judge a book by it's cover, alright? The things in there are nothing short of treasures, unless they prove too measly for your fancy high standards. We've got to make the most of it, you know." Hunter let out for the crew. This got them to roll with it.

"I have slept on the hottest sands of deserts, in the midst of a cruel wind that would rip the flesh of a mortal's bones. I have gained rest sky high in the coldest of mountains where the ice cold cutting through skin like a thousand little knives. I have been from a volcano to the depths of the Underworld where it burns like the sun itself. So I suggest you to show gratitude and settle for what we are being given, for one." Kratos lectured with wisdom flowing through him like a river. He was usually more tense and less expressive, but the circumstances were currently too favorable to complain at all.

Jak nodded in agreement.

"Alright, it's better than nothing." He commented on the subject.

"And there's nothing better around." Cole pointed out. Radec rolled with it.

"It will have to suffice." Radec went on to say.

"That it will. Now hurry your asses in, we're no good out here." Hunter commanded as he headed inside.

The view inside wasn't much better than the one outside. The place screamed barren, it was a mess of things. It was dusty in many spots, but it didn't lack in space. There was only a little light that came in the form of rays. Little rays of sunshine from the outside. Hunter was careful to remain unseen.

"Please get comfortable, make yourselves at home. Careful with my stuff." Hunter instructed.

As everyone walked and looked around, they felt the wooden floor croak beneath their feet. It became increasingly evident when Pyramid Head dragged his Great Knife across, much to Hunter's distaste.

"Got something down below?" Ratchet asked with concern. The floor didn't seem stable enough to handle their combined weight.

"I keep some of my stuff there, yeah. Now, the lights are out, there's no energy but I should be able to get this show running if I can fix that power box over there." Hunter spoke as he grabbed some of his tools but Ratchet gestured for him to stay at ease.

"Easy, let me handle that. I'm a mechanic." He told Hunter.

He complied and watched as Ratchet moved over to the box and it's switch, running a quick check on his mind of what could be wrong. His omni wrench wasn't suited for the job so he put it aside and started to re-wire the system with his own hands and Clank's instruction.

Shortly enough after, the only step left was the power source, it seemed like the fuses had been burned. Ratchet called out to Cole for his aid on that.

"It's good as new, all we're missing is a nice kick for the energy, would you do us the honors?" That said, Ratchet eyed how Cole put a hand on the switch and sent a burst of electricity through it, bringing the lights back for good, much to the team's delight.

"Nice." Hunter mused to himself. "Now if you excuse me, I have a call to make."

With that out of the way, Hunter went to a dark corner of the building where there laid a huge table, to do his part. A huge white blanket covered the equipment lying on the table and Hunter quickly pulled it off to unveil his radio equipment. It was huge and extense, also battered with an aged look, as if Hunter had to scavenge and put things together desperately to get it done, which seemed to be the case. He plugged it in and worked up a few kinks to get it running.

"Took me the longest time to build this baby but it was worth it." Hunter commented as he sat down and tried to contact the military.

"So who are you calling?" Ratchet asked.

"The cavalry. The moment we intercept the next convoy they're going to have a rare opportunity to advance and kill the mutts and I wouldn't like for them to waste it, wouldn't be good for business. Plus, I imagine that the army would pay me most handsomely for giving them an edge in the war with the transport routes and all. A man's got to make a living."

"Think it will make a difference?" Dante countered, a bit critical of the approach. "If they're as damned as you say, maybe we should do this ourselves and get done with it."

"So you suddenly became a one man army, huh? Listen, we can't just rush things, there would be an entire army waiting up for us if we did, and while I don't know about you, in my plans it didn't figure to go into a kill zone and get mowed down just for the glory." Hunter responded, not fond of the idea of becoming some cannon fodder.

"You've got to take a risk to take a win, you know?" Dante insisted. Kratos joined the talk too.

"The way I see it, all the power is in our end. Take us to the battle front and we will end this war for you."

"And end my business just like that? Do the calc. Don't get me wrong, I hate those things, but the moment we wipe them all out, I have reasons to think my existence would grow exponentially boring."

"Yet if we don't, you lose anyway. If they're getting stronger over the time, how long do you calculate you have before they start overwhelming you? And with how many of them you have killed, joining them isn't an option. Choose the lesser bad." Radec told them with persuation flowing in his voice. Hunter seemed to be thinking it through.

"And think of what we told you before, if there's other worlds around, what's to stop you from doing your thing in all and each? Imagine a fortune bigger than this whole city, just waiting for you in the other side." Said Sly with a grin as he and the others moved behind Hunter. Radec put a firm hand on his shoulder to further call his attention.

"Where I come from there's a war, bigger than this one. Imagine the references a colonel like myself could give for a professional like yourself. A man like you could be of use to us."

"It does sound promising." Hunter commented.

Part of the team had to work hard to hold their laughter at the continuous attempts at getting Hunter's assistance.

"Okay, it's worth a shot. If that's what you want then you can have it." Hunter said as he paced back and forth on his chair, deep in thought. Too many factors to account for. "Though I'm a bit worried about wether or not we can actually survive this ordeal you present me with."

"You do your part and I'll do the worrying, trust me, it's better that way." Sly said with calm.

"That's fair." Hunter said happily. "First thing's first though, we still have a job to pull. We stay here and wait till the Chimera show their mugs, then we blast them to pieces. Not that I don't like our chances, but I don't know how well you guys work under pressure."

"Swimmingly." Radec stated boldly.

"You'll see." Raiden added with confidence and a smile.

Then there was silence.

"So, how long do we wait?" Ratchet suddenly asked.

Time went by, and the crew was to occupy themselves and spend that time in their own separate ways. The chimera would pass by at night, leaving them with a few hours to walk around and do as they saw fit in Hunter's lair. A breath of fresh air and a break from all the running and marching was very much appreciated by them. Served them right after all the fighting, though most of them had to admit that the fighting was important to them, even necessary. Periods of peace could be a blessing, but they could also grow dull and boring. But they still found ways to fight the inactivity and undo that uneasy feeling.

Pyramid Head seemed disturbed, but also dead silent and quiet. He rested his head against a wall, his Great Knife resting on the floor, pretty much cracking it with it's weight alone. Nothing worrying him, nothing passing his mind if he had one, nothing at all. He was a punisher, representing torment and acting as a form of grief towards those who needed and wanted to be put through pain, physical, emotional and mental.

He manifested himself in front of those who suffered from the inside and now had to do so on the outside too. A tormentor and executioner. But things changed, way too quickly for his taste. He found himself dragged, hauled, pulled out from his town and sent to a different world altogether. The town of Silent Hill was missing a fraction of itself, an aspect, thus he was bound to return as soon as possible. And the town didn't live up to it's name, for it wasn't silent at all, not in his secluded and triangular head.

It was loud, nasty and wild. It reached out to him, seized his being and demanded his return as part of it, to become whole once again. Oh, the wait was unbearable for both.

There were so many souls he tormented over the years, many poor devils and bastards looking for salvation. What they did not know, was that salvation could often present itself in a weird fashion, not so nice. He stalked them in the mist, grew stronger from their sins and showed them the path to attonement, in the most unorthodox way possible, making sure he was unforgettable.

But from all those lost souls in pain coming wayward, one stood out. His name was Sunderland, James Sunderland. Once a married man, he killed his wife, yet he had lost her before death. Death didn't do them part, sickness did, and that brought the worst out of the man. So when he ended up in Silent Hill, looking to find solace, trying to block the memory of his acts but also to punish himself for his actions, he found what he looked for in the form of Pyramid Head. But the monster was taken back by the man's determination and his ability to overcome his obstacles. He went through resisting Pyramid Head's tactics and in the end he got to acceptance, the final stage of his grief and the final step to defeat the monster, slaying him with his very own weapon and getting him to resort to his last move: Suicide. Self-sacrifice was much needed in cases like that, Pyramid Head knew it and James definitely did so too because in the end he took that way out too, driving into water to his death with his wife's corpse next to him, thus reuniting with her.

But that was all irrelevant, unimportant, a different story that nothing had to do with his current one. Moving on, he had only one purpose now, returning, and if he had to tag along with others and butcher his way through hordes of enemies, he would do it. That he would.

Raiden stood with his head pressed on the window, his single eye scanning the streets up front as if awaiting for the first sign of trouble to draw his HF blade for what seemed like the longest time.

Restless, tireless and almost emotionless he stood. Crazy as his situation may have been, he felt guilty to admit that he was grateful for it. It felt good to have an excuse, to make himself of use and slash enemies of all sorts for a cause. Made him feel less crazy, though he still knew that he was clearly not all there.

Every battle before and after his upgrades had taken quite a toll on him. He had the urge to keep going with the slaughter and hopping from a dimension to other was certainly giving him a drive and an excuse to do so. If he hadn't let his Ripper self come out in a while it was because he was keeping it for a special time and he had a metallic gut feeling telling him that said time would come soon if things kept escalating as they did. It was just a feeling.

Still, putting that old battle tendency of his aside, his company wasn't half bad, neither as soldiers nor as people. For a bunch of disorganized strangers meeting by fate they sufficed, working together, fighting together and seeing things to their end. Nice soldiers, the lot of them. This almost made him forget the family he had waiting for him back at home. Truth be said, there were times when in the middle of a slaughter he wondered how his wife Rosemary and his son John would be doing without him. It would take more than some money and the occasional gifts sent to their door to remind them that they still had him in their lives. He missed them.

Then again, he also missed the sheer carnage of letting loose in the battlefield, and if he had to share the fun of it with some kindly strangers then it was a fair trade.

"Do you ever rest?" Cole asked with his arms crossed, walking up next to him, seeing how unblinking and focused he stood as sentry. Raiden shrugged without taking his eye off the street.

"When the enemy is down in pieces, the war won and the land secured. That's when I rest. Thing is, I'm growing tired of resting." Raiden replied. Cole watched the same front as him, with his hands ready.

"Nice. Because I don't think we'll be catching a breather soon after."

The two of them went on and so did time.

Ratchet ran a quick check of his own weapons, sitting on a table and counting up all the ammo he still had. He hadn't gotten any chances to reload since there were no Gadgetron vending machines in any of their stops at the dimensions. That was to be expected.

Jak came to inspect his Morph Gun too. He had the same issue with his weapon. If it went on, they would have to switch to melee only. Not like they couldn't manage though.

With the clock ticking and seeing how the team's focus was all around, Hunter whistled in a call for their attention, ready to break down the nature of his plan and share it with the other. So lonely had he been over the years that he had come close to losing the capacity to dialogue so he guessed keeping up the talk would do more good for him.

Everyone in the crew stopped what they were doing and turned to Hunter as he dragged a chalkboard around alongside a set of radio equipment, which he put on the table to then start talking.

"Alright, class, I hatched us a nice plan of attack and it's time you learned it. Before I go on, somebody want to say something?"

Dante raised a hand like a child in a classroom before making his point.

"Not tryin' to be an asshole, but..." He began, only for Radec to cut him off by musing.

"Too late for that."

Dante shrugged it off and continued.

"Who died and put you in charge?" Dante finished questioning, getting only a glare from Hunter.

"Who died and...?" Hunter began with a chuckle. "Well, to be precise, half the population of America, if not 60% of the world, including military leaders and officers, alogside this entire city. Given that I'm the only local around, that gives me the merit by default. So hush, little girl, adults are talking adult things."

Dante crossed his arms and sat patiently on his chair as Hunter continued and the crew listened up.

Exactly an hour later, a large chimera group marched through the streets, their tanks flattening cars like pancakes and their dismounted units looking out for human enemies. It was getting darker, and it didn't help them how dead the lights on the streets

were, with only a few trash cans set on fire lighting up their path. They expected nothing, given how many times they had ravaged and purged the area. Their only concern was the time, they got delayed after a fight against the military and so they had lost a few numbers and weapons, but not quite.

But no matter how packed and equipped they were, it escaped their line of sight how some blurry figures and silouhettes ran from a rooftop to other, pinpointing their location and direction without them noticing.

"So, how's the view, coon?" Hunter asked Sly through the radio as he moved underground to rig his charges.

"Got them right where you wanted them." Sly commented as he watched with glee how the enemy came to a stop, caused by an inmense barricade of cars and concrete blocking their path while covering what awaited them on the other side. "How's the wall holding up?"

Dante picked up the call and answered on a low tone, careful to not be overheard by the chimera.

"So far, so good. My trigger finger's itching though."

From all ends and angles that the crew had taken as positions, each part studied the chimera's movement pattern with mild curiosity and fair caution. The creatures advanced, getting closer and closer to the barricade now obstructing them as if planning to get through. They seemed more willing to just blast it apart and go through than to take their time and get around, and they did have the tanks and the weapons to ensure that.

Nathan, Radec, Jak and Ratchet were all positioned on the rooftops around the horde, taking cover and aiming at the biggest threats in the perimeter. It was getting real dark, but that only worked to their favor, hiding them in plain sight while the chimera were so close together that not a single one escaped their range. Together they awaited the signal to start the killing.

"Do you know how to handle that babe?" Daxter asked Ratchet, seeing him try to adapt to the sniper rifle Hunter had given him to make up for his loss of ammo.

"I'm fine, a gun is a gun." Ratchet said, shifting his weight a little and pressing the rifle butt on a shoulder.

"Jus' sayin'. Back at our place, we've got a nice shooting range to prep. You and your tin buddy remind of a few targets there too." Daxter went on about.

Then the radio echoed with a call from Hunter, which Nate picked up.

"Can you see the beasties in your scopes?" He asked with concern, earning a chuckle from Nate.

"We can see all but their genders, pal." Nate joked.

With that confirmation given, Hunter kicked off and ran from his position in the sewers in a hurry. With the charges rigged to give the chimera a nasty surprise, Hunter's only business was to get off the blast radius as soon as possible. All the flamable gases underground would do the job.

Climbing up the ladder, he made another call to each part of the crew.

"You've got greenlight. When you're ready."

Back at the surface, the chimera were a few away from the barricade, their foot soldiers heading to climb it while the tank crew stepped on the pedals to just go right through. That was when the unsuspecting soldiers climbing at the front felt the great wall tremble, about to come undone by the might of a combined force on the other side.

"C'mon, give me a hand here." Dante muttered as he pressed his back to the multi-story tall wall they had crafted together, intending to bring it down.

It was Kratos who casually stepped up front and with only one hand, taking Dante's plead literally, pushed the many tons of metal and brick down on the enemy.

The ranks of the chimera present at the time ranged from 300 to 500 according to Hunter's observations. The crew members at the rooftops could bear witness to that. Over 12 tanks roamed on the way. Those who tried to climb the wall and those standing closest to it found themselves crushed by the rubble, squashed like bugs under it. Now that was the crew's chance.

The rest of the chimera didn't slow down one bit, they all drew their guns and took aim at their opposition, but that was when Hunter beat them on the draw with his detonator. Before they could fire, the street shook violently, cracking and then collapsing into pieces with an uproaring explosion, bringing the chimera down into the big hole that was made into the sewers.

Dante and his part of the crew backed off to shield themselves from the blast. Kratos jumped ahead of tge others to absorb the blunt force of the explosion. Together they outran the increasing quake to reach the higher ground while the chimera were dragged into the pit.

There was a rise of smoke coming from the pit, covering the horde of enemies. About 6 whole city blocks had collapsed taking the troops down but the crew was sure they were still in one piece and more pissed off than actually hurt, but that was fine by them, they didn't expect it to be easy.

By the time the smoke cleared, the chimera were already blasting out of the pit with guns blazing, but so were the crew's gunners.

The sound of the sniper rounds echoed through the night, taking headshot after headshot on the exposed and unprotected soldiers.

From the rooftops, Radec grinned under his mask as he shot heads off. Ratchet, Nate and Jak followed suit for as long as they could before reloading and ducking under the response fire.

"How'd ya like that, you putrid leeches?!" Daxter exclaimed in joy while Jak dispatched foe after foe from the line. That only lasted for so long though, as Jak and the others began noting how much closer the enemy's shots were getting.

"They're not playing with pea-shooters anymore." Ratchet stated, seeing how the shots fired by the chimera were threatening to bring their whole building down without even trying. The structure would only hold up for so long.

"Will have to do better than that, I'm afraid." Radec mused with confidence, staring down at the rather shaken probe enemies while crawling into a better aiming position. But then to add more trouble to the equation, the ones operating the tank regained balance and spun their turrets to take aim at the roof. "Oh, now that's just playing dirty."

"Move!" Jak yelled as he caught sight of the attack, warning the others as he ran to the edge.

Without any more warning, a well placed tank shell of high caliber found it's way into the rooftop, disintegrating most of the building where the sniper nest was set. Ratchet, Nate and Radec barely had the time to get running and then jump from the corner when the deafening explosion behind them went off, it's shockwave sending them flying and crashing through the windows of the next building. Their landing wasn't particularily graceful but they made it.

Meanwhile, Kratos and Raiden led the attack in the streets, taking out the front lines as the others took cover behind them and then approached further. They were met with quite some resistance, but when Kratos and Raiden drew their blades, the opposition proved futile. Heads rolled and limbs flew once they stepped down on the pit. The tanks opened fire all at once, only for Kratos to jump ahead and take all the damage.

Unfortunately, the chimera weren't limited to just land troops this time. A deafening sound came from the sky, causing Dante tolook up from his position and then shout a warning.

"Take cover!"

Blinding lights showed up in the sky, and with them, an entire wave of bombs and heavy artillery too. Dante, Cole and Nariko dashed at top speed to avoid the blast radius, but Pyramid Head's slow pace got him caught in the middle. Kratos and Raiden were too busy slicing the tanks apart, forcing them to brace themselves at the last moment. A smoke cloud and a blaze of fire erupted from where they once stood.

The shockwave that came after was enough to shatter the windows of all nearby buildings, reminding Nate and company to get their heads back on the game if they planned to stay alive.

"Would have been great if you warned us about that weather, Hunter!" Nate called out on the radio.

"Like hell! Don't know where they got those things from, this is way past their usual game!" Hunter responded on the run, trying to hide from the bombers.

Said bombers made a formation in the air. The ships had a shape similar to U.F.O's but not quite, their circular build was complemented by a series of thrusters and cannons as well as some sort of hatch down under where the bombs came from. They were big enough that they totally eclipsed whatever little bit of moonlight the streets were getting and their engines roared with a macabre sound from their altitude.

Kratos and Raiden were being crowded and shot at by the remaining chimera down in the pit. The bombing had taken it's toll not just on them but on the chimera too. They seemed willing to make plenty of sacrifices to earn victory, but the crew could make it through that.

With his warrior instincts taking over completely, Kratos got back on his feet at godspeed, snatching a chimera's head and crushing it before tossing the body at the other ones like a cannonball. He brought his blades up and after a combo of devastating swings he brought them down on the ground, causing a loud shockwave that knocked the fiends back.

Another tank fired at him, yet the shell never hit when a reincorporated Raiden took off like a jet and sliced the shell apart, following with a slash that took away the top of the tank alongside the driver's head.

The ships above them were on their way to strike again but both warriors saw ahead of that. Kratos seized one of the tanks, lifted it, and after a couple spins, he hurled it at a ship at hundreds of miles per hour.

Raiden took the initiative to finish off all the remaining land troops and then fled the scene with Kratos before another rain of fire came upon then. They made a brief stop to grab Pyramid Head and carry him on the run to a safe place.

It took a while and lots of running for Hunter to make it but he eventually reached the top floor of an old abandonned hotel that he thought would make a fine vantage point with Cole and Sly climbing it on the outside. Once they were high, Hunter took note of every single target and counted the missiles he had for his strike accordingly.

Eight ships in the sky, though one was coming apart after being struck by what Hunter perceived as a flying tank. It was freaking odd, but he kept in mind that was how the crew worked. With 7 main targets now, he spared a glance at the 10 missiles he packed. Though they belonged to the chimera and were designed to take down all sorts of aircraft, he knew it would take more than one to destroy each ship and even if he could bring down most of them, he knew that wouldn't cut it. But he still had to give it a try.

As he took aim, he noticed that Cole was up to something too.

"Don't mind if I change the weather." He museed. A lot of energy coursed through his body and then his his hands reached at the sky, as if gesturing for something to happen.

"Is he off his meds?" Hunter asked Sly with curiousity. The thief just smirked and shrugged.

Now Hunter didn't know what the conduit was doing with his powers, but he soon came to realize how effective it was.

Massive clouds were formed and came together up in the sky. Lightning flashed all over the area. Now things weren't looking up for the ship. It was unlike anything Hunter had seen before. Even though Earth was exposed to some pretty hostile and chaotic conditions as of the chimera's arrival, this took the cake in the abnormality section.

In just a matter of seconds, before the ships could find them, a large and unprecedented storm took over a huge part of New York. Cole focused on the sky and with another motion, he called forth pillars of lightning down on the ships. Most of them hit, knocking the ships off course. Three of them were destroyed afterwards, leaving them with four more to go. This turned the tides on the crew's favor for the rest of the battle.

Hunter grinned at the sight and joined the offensive, launching his missiles against the aerial targets.

The chimera's response was vicious however. Now aware and locked on the team, they began firing from their turrets at a mad speed.

Cole put up a shield, but while it covered him, Hunter and Sly, the chimera just lowered their shots to hit the lower levels, threatening to bring down the building with them.

Running low on time and relying on a mix of parkour and free running, in which they were quite experienced, Hunter, Cole and Sly evacuated the hotel, landing in a back alley to then sprint away from the devastation that came to be around them.

Dante and Nariko stood a few meters away from a shattered window facing one of the attack ships as it lost altitude to probe the area, ready to race ahead and jump into action.

"Shall we?" She asked him with a firm tone.

"Thought you'd never ask me." He replied before drawing his sword and sprinting at mach speed alongside Nariko.

They let out battle cries as their weapons collided with the thick shell of the flying vehicle, tearing human sized holes on it. What went down inside was a total carnage.

The ship's handlers and pilots were bluntly taken by surprise, left with little to no time to react, which Dante and Nariko seized as an opportunity.

The chimera tried to raise their guns but they didn't even get that far when Dante filled them all with lead coming right out of his pistols.

With the pilots dead, Dante ran straight to the controls, trying to find a way to operate the machine before it hopelessly crashed.

"How do you control this weapon?" Nariko asked out of confusion, which Dante shared.

"Well, I think..." Dante began only to trail off at how lost he was with the controls and buttons. So he just yanked out the pieces and shot the buttons, just about to flee. "There, that'll do. Follow me, princess."

But when Dante turned to look at Nariko, she had just made another hole in the shell with the blaster of a dead enemy.

"No, you follow me." She commanded seriously before leaping off the crashing ship.

"That I will." Dante mused to himself, following Nariko afterwards.

Their fall was hard enough to crack the asphalt below them, but not as much as the flaming ship about to explode.

With three more to go, Hunter laughed and ran down the little street left by the bombs, in order to get a good shot at the three attack ships left. He spat and then raised his launcher, glaring at the bombers.

"Come and get me. Come get a load of me!"

They caught sight of what he was doing, but by the time they did, he had an advantage. They fired at him, their distance being one of the few factors why he remained in one piece afterwards.

"Do it, do it, I'm right here, I'm waiting." He kept saying mindlessly. The day he was mutated by the chimera, it took a toll on his mind and behavior, giving him a pretty reckless outlook at times like this.

The crew didn't let him down either. Raident went flying against one of the ships, thrown by Kratos as a way of reaching them. He ripped it apart in the air, each one of his swings charged and energetic at a blinding speed, which in his eyes felt like slow time.

Kratos himself scaled viciously, catapulting himself off the road and crashing against a ship with his gauntlets worn, his punch hitting it hard enough to floor it and shatter it's build. The ship was floored upon impact.

This left Hunter with just one to worry about, which he luckily dispatched before it could land actual shots on him. All the missiles he fired did the job. He watched satisfied how the hull and the carcass were covered in flames and then dragged through the asphalt with a loud and gratifying sound. It stopped just a few feet away from him, in the process of which he didn't flinch or try to back away.

He raised his now empty launcher and pressed his boot on the steaming pile of scrap and remains in front of him, as if claiming victory.

Hunter then looked around with joy, eyeing the fruit of the crew's work, and so did them.

A few chimera engulfed in fire came from the blaze left by the last three ships, shrieking in pain. They didn't make it far, being all dispatched accordingly bya fully recovered Pyramid Head.

"I changed my mind, Hunter. The weather is looking rather nice this time of the year." Nate joked as he came from the building where he sheltered, walking up to Hunter with a smile.

"If you want to keep it like that, I suggest we get moving." Radec spoke grimmly behind him.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be the guy cleaning this mess up." Daxter said, brushing the sweat off his furr.

Hunter though, was busy at the time, looting and scavenging whatever there was to be found of value on the chimera. He pretty much danced from one charred corpse to other, light on his feet.

"Okay, we made it. Now what?" Came from Dante as he and Nariko walked into the light formed by the flaming wreckage.

"Now we wait, until everyone is good to go." Raiden said, back to join the group with Kratos.

"We are all fine, the wisest thing to do now is to keep moving and find a safe path." Kratos added. "Assuming we know where we are headed."

"Sounds like a plan." Sly commented.

"Oh, there's a plan in the making, alright?" Hunter said in a short break from his ravaging and pointing a finger to his head. "I've got it right up here. I'll make a couple calls so that the cavalry will hear."

"Cavalry? I figured by this point that was us." Jak argued with a raised eyebrow.

"And I thought you were a lone wolf." Ratchet supplied. Hunter shrugged it off.

"Not if I can help it. I'm not against having a bit of extra hands on my corner. Especially if I don't have to pay you. A wolf can always use a pack." Hunter explained.

"Glad to hear that. Leadership was starting to weigh on me anyway." Cole quipped with a smirk.

"A lot of pressure, I imagine. Still, I'd like for you to make up your minds on where you want to go from here. Because as you saw, there's a war blazing out there and it ain't pretty."

There was a moment of silence in which the crew stopped to think things through and consider their options. That was when Nariko felt the need to join the talk as well.

"You should lead us to where the war is at it's strongest. The front. I think we can agree on that."

Most of the crew nodded in agreement.

"I recon this might be a good time to remind ourselves of what we are doing and the reason." Clank said as a reminder of the situation with the portals to the team. He dropped from Ratchet's back for a moment to make his point. "The anomalies I'm picking indeed tell me that there's another portal awaiting here, at a considerable distance in the north."

"Funny, because that's exactly where the front lines are." Hunter mentioned. The connection between those things was made clear.

"That sums it up. It's like the previous dimension, guys, there is a portal, a source that we must reach, yet a swarm of monsters stand in the way." Ratchet concluded in light of the information they received.

Regardless, their options were laid out and in the end it wasn't much of a choice. There was at least the hope that even if they couldn't return to their lands, they could always let out their frustrations on the "head of the games" by destroying him.

"When you put it like that, it's a simple choice." Sly said in agreement.

"It is." Radec voiced.

"Look at it this way, we have a disaster in our hands and the only way out, is through." Nate reasoned with no doubt on what their next stop was. Raiden spoke up next.

"We may have no guarantee on what will happen there but if we at least get a shot at the bastards pulling the strings, then I'm down for it."

"I second that." Kratos stated with the slightest hint of a smirk on his face.

"All has been said then. We are clear to go." Said Nariko after the choice was taken. Hunter nodded and signaled for the sewers.

"Cool. I'll lead the way though. A full frontal assault will do us more harm than good, wouldn't ya agree furrball?" Hunter asked Ratchet with a smile. The lombax thought about it for a moment before quickly agreeing with the man.

"Yeah. Got any options?"

"Sure thing. I'm taking the tunnels. Can you dig it?" Everyone nodded. "Good. The chimera will be too busy with the military to give a damn. We go right under the radar, as far as we can get and from there we figure what we'll do. I'll talk to the soldiers, see what I can do to help ya and then it's square. You guys will be free to follow your death wish, wherever it leads you."

Ratchet gave it some more thought and then pulled back from his worries to conclude.

"Fair enough."

At the peak of their tower, each one of the Polygon Man's enforcers paced and stood to the edge of the structure, having a good look at the barren wasteland beyond, represented by the growing horde of marching soldiers and war machines, taking a scourge to mankind.

"A view to kill, gentlemen. Had you ever seen something so beautiful?" Calypso asked his peers. A vicious businessman, he was rather enthusiastic about his newest promotion in terms of power. So many earths to be accessed through their new employer, and so much time to play with them.

"I did. Once. In hell." Vergil replied sincerely, memories flashing, of how he raised his very own army of demons, which was still at his disposal and waiting to be put to good use.

Not like he couldn't wait. He was patient about it. First he would prove himself the one and only, true successor to his father. Or at least the only one worthy of the honor. And he would prove that by exacting a great vengeance against his brother. Dante just couldn't get the message through his thick skull, of how in order to truly rid the world of evil, to save it, it had to be saved from itself. If he was hurting humans, it was so that they wouldn't hurt themselves far worse.

Death, war, famine and pestilence. All four had struck his earth so hard it was undeniable. To kill demons didn't even begin to fix what was truly wrong with it.

At least in the earth where he now stood, it seemed like the threat of the chimera had presented mankind with a golden opportunity to grow up and evolve, unifying to battle a common enemy and not themselves. At least they were dying for something as somebodies, and not for nothing as nobodies.

Utterly splendid. So enlightening. It was proven true that nearing the end, towards the brink of their extinction people really changed for the better. That was an universal truth that the Polygon Man had shared with him.

And on that topic, Vergil's reflections were paused by the sudden appearance of his employer.

Only that this time, the Polygon Man had taken on a different form to present himself.

"Fellows." He spoke up with that ominous tone of his, as he walked up to Vergil, Calypso and Zeus in his newly acquired avatar. "How about we go out for a walk?"

To that they couldn't say no.

* * *

 **F***ing finally, am I right? I'll make a longer author note later because right now I'm stressed out of my mind. I owed you guys this but I must confess that a lot of other projects have taken priority over this one. While I still feel obligued to it, there's a lot of other stuff that I need to sort out. Just you know, this isn't dead. I'll remember. Take good care, everyone, sending good vibes on your way.**


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